The talks between Volkswagen and Ford about a collaboration have been broadened and are now also about self-driving cars, reports Bloomberg. Earlier it was already known that work was being done on cooperation in the development of pick-up trucks and company cars.
The cooperation should result in considerable cost savings for car manufacturers from Germany and the United States. Automakers are announcing major investments in the transition to electric cars and vehicles that run on other energy sources. A lot is also expected of self-driving vehicles, and a lot has to be invested for this too.
Volkswagen, the largest car company in the world, is still struggling with the aftermath of the diesel scandal that made it to pay tens of billions of euros in fines, damages and repairs. Ford is on the verge of an expensive worldwide restructuring and must therefore also keep an eye on the little ones.
On Thursday, financial chief Bob Shanks said that there are no restrictions in the partnership with Volkswagen, without going into specific areas such as self-driving cars. “We have very broad conversations about how we can help each other worldwide.” VW only said that the talks went well.
The cooperation could be one of the largest in the sector. Ford also talks with the Indian automaker Mahindra about a partnership for the development of cars aimed at emerging markets.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) achieved less profit in the third quarter than it recorded a year earlier. This was due, among other things, to a higher tax bill and higher legal costs surrounding a settlement in the United States that was met in September. The operating profit was higher.
The bank, which is still largely owned by the British government, made a profit of 563 million pounds in the books as compared to 606 million pounds in the same quarter a year earlier. The operating profit came to £961 million compared with £871 million in the previous year.
RBS further took extra measures due to the uncertain economic conditions and bad loans in Ireland. The bank will continue to use its Dutch banking license to remain active within the European Union after the Brexit.
