Volkswagen Group is preparing to invest up to $1.7 billion in a self-driving joint venture centered on Ford Motor’s Argo AI unit, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing sources with knowledge of the discussions.
VW is preparing to invest $600 million as an equity investment in Argo, the newspaper said, with each company owning half of the business. VW would invest $1.1 billion in working capital for the entity’s research and development, the report said.
Ford, in a statement, said talks with VW continue but declined to directly confirm or deny the details in the Journal’s story. Ford and VW last month announced the beginnings of what they called a global alliance that would include jointly developing midsize pickups and commercial vans for overseas markets. The two sides said they were also discussing collaborating on autonomous and electric vehicles.
