"Both automakers would benefit from reduced engineering and development costs to develop autonomous vehicles. Ford can spearhead its efforts, given the scale and resources the world’s largest automaker (Volkswagen) has. The partnership is timely, given the tight deadline (2021) both automakers have to launch autonomous vehicles. The partnership comes at heels of other similar ones including – Honda and Softbank in GM’s Cruise, and Toyota and Denso in Uber’s ATG. With billions of dollars at stake and technology still untested, automakers are in pressure to form partnerships and alliances to maintain future competitiveness." – Aman Madhok