The Volkswagen Group and Tata Motors have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding that “forms the basis for exploring long-term strategic co-operation in clearly defined fields”.
“The goal of the strategic alliance is to bundle the expertise of both car manufacturers with a view to jointly developing vehicle components and possibly also vehicle concepts,” the VW Group said in a statement.
Under the terms of the memorandum, the two automotive groups will “explore possibilities for a strategic partnership in India”.
Interestingly, the German automaker said that Skoda would lead the project “in order to share responsibility among the Volkswagen Group brands”.
The statement added that the first step would be to “address topics such as the application of specific market knowledge as well as local development expertise”. In the long term, of course, the VW Group is looking to further expand its product portfolio in what it describes as “fast-growing emerging markets”.
“Our aim with the envisaged strategic partnership with Tata Motors is to lay the foundations in the group and the brands that will enable us to offer customer-oriented mobility solutions in the emerging, fast-growing automobile markets, as elsewhere,” said Matthias Müller, CEO of Volkswagen AG.
“By offering the appropriate products we intend to achieve sustainable and profitable growth in very different parts of the world. That is why we are systematically pursuing our regional growth strategy,” Müller explained.
Günter Butschek, CEO and managing director of Tata Motors, added that the proposed partnership would greatly benefit both groups.
“We are delighted to announce our potential cooperation with Volkswagen Group and Skoda. We strongly believe that both the companies, by working together, can leverage from each other’s strengths to create synergies and develop smart innovative solutions for the Indian and overseas market,” said Butschek.
The statement added that the contractual framework and the guidelines for the strategic co-operation would be “examined and defined in detail over the coming months”.
Until then, the parties have agreed not to disclose any information.
