Argo AI modified Ford Motor Co. Fusion autonomous vehicles sit parked in a garage at the company's headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. The investment in Argo AI, a self-driving startup, is Ford's way of trying to catch up to Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo and General Motors Co. in the driverless derby. Ford took a majority stake in Argo last year and expects to deploy autonomous vehicles running its system in a money-making business by 2021. Photographer: Justin Merriman/Bloomberg
DETROIT: An expanded alliance between Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG that includes a partnership in Ford self-driving unit Argo AI could redraw the balance of power in autonomous vehicles.
A Ford-VW collaboration with Argo, the Pittsburgh-based start-up that has spearheaded Ford’s self-driving development since 2017, could help reduce the engineering and financial burdens on each automaker. It could also accelerate the deployment timetables of both, which have said they plan to put autonomous vehicles into operation in 2021.
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