VW Group and Tata Motors confirm strategic alliance for joint projects

Two days after Autocar India broke the news about Tata Motors and Volkswagen having inked an MoU for joint cooperation, official confirmation of the same has come.

A media release issued today states that Matthias Müller, CEO of Volkswagen AG, Bernhard Maier, CEO of Škoda Auto and Guenter Butschek, CEO and MD of Tata Motors, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which forms the basis for exploring long-term strategic cooperation 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.

For the Volkswagen Group, the signing of the MoU with Tata Motors marks a further step in the context of ‘Together – Strategy 2025’. Under the terms of the memorandum, the Volkswagen Group and Tata Motors will explore possibilities for a strategic partnership in India.

In order to share responsibility among the Volkswagen Group brands, Skoda Auto is to lead the project. The first step will address topics such as the application of specific market knowledge as well as local development expertise. In the long term, the Volkswagen Group is looking to further expand its product portfolio in the 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. 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," said Matthias Müller, CEO of Volkswagen AG.

"We are delighted to announce our potential cooperation with Volkswagen Group and Škoda. 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. This is in alignment with Tata Motors' efforts to make itself ‘FutuReady' by embracing new technologies, fostering higher platform efficiency and offering solutions that connect with the aspirations of our customers", said Güenter Butschek, CEO and MD of Tata Motors.

"We are looking forward to the joint project with Tata Motors. Delegating project responsibility to Škoda underscores the great confidence of the Volkswagen Group in the ability of our brand. Together with Tata, we will be specifying the concrete opportunities for collaboration over the coming months," said Bernhard Maier, CEO of Škoda Auto.

Tata Motors and Skoda Auto will detail out the guiding principles and terms of cooperation in the next few months. After successful completion of definitive agreements, the two companies will start joint development work and joint value-chain activities. Based on this joint work, Tata Motors plans to launch products in the Indian market, starting calendar year 2019.