AutoLatina was a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

between

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercia ...

subsidiary Volkswagen do Brasil (51%) and

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

subsidiary

Ford Brasil Ford Brasil is the Brazilian subsidiary of American automaker Ford Motor Company, founded on April 24, 1919. The operation started out importing the Ford Model T cars and the Ford Model TT trucks in kit form from the United States for assembly ...

(49%) in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

. The main reason for the joint venture was the bad economic situation at the time, which made joint survival more attractive than an individual fight for a share in a dwindling market. Four divisions - Ford of Argentina, Ford Brasil (Ford of Brasil), Volkswagen Argentina, and Volkswagen do Brasil - formed AutoLatina in July 1987. Volkswagen managed the car division, and Ford the truck division. This resulted in the two companies sharing

badge engineered In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a ma ...

models. These included: * Ford Verona / Volkswagen Apollo * Ford Escort Mk V /

Volkswagen Pointer {{Infobox automobile , name = Volkswagen Pointer , image = Pwiki1.jpg , manufacturer = Autolatina (1994–1995)Volkswagen (1996) , production = 1994 (1993 for Logus)–1996 , predecessor = , successor = Volkswagen Gol , class = Small fami ...

* Ford Orion /

Volkswagen Logus Side view The Volkswagen Logus was a rebadged Ford Escort MkV launched by Volkswagen in a two-door coupé configuration in March 1993, as part of the Ford Motor Company and Volkswagen do Brasil joint venture in South America called AutoLatina. ...

Volkswagen Santana The Volkswagen Santana is a nameplate used by Volkswagen for various sedans and station wagons since 1983. The first generation is based on the second-generation Volkswagen Passat (B2). It was introduced in 1981 while production started in 1983 ...

/ Ford Galaxy/Versailles * Volkswagen Quantum / Ford Royale A clay model of a small Ford 3-door hatchback derived from the

Volkswagen Gol The Volkswagen Gol is a subcompact car that has been manufactured by Volkswagen do Brasil since 1980 as Volkswagen's entry-level car in the Latin American market—where it succeeded the Volkswagen Type 1 (Fusca) and the VW Brasilia. S ...

was made, as well as sketches of 5-door, panel van and XR2 versions. Stylists found difficulty styling around the unusual proportions caused by engine packaging, causing dissatisfaction with Ford's management towards the platform restrictions. Models using Volkswagen's B5 platform were also considered, such a SUV-like "RSV" model, an MPV model and derived pickup, and a Ford sedan and wagon. Sketches were also produced of Fusca "Icon" concepts (such as buggys and hot rods), a new-generation Gol 3, and cabriolet and pickup variants of the Logus. A facelifted Logus was cancelled due to the collapse of the venture. The AutoLatina venture was dissolved in December 1995. The market share of Ford had eroded since the merger, due to its lack of small models markets when the market was shifting to more economic vehicles. For its part, Volkswagen maintained its leadership in Brazil thanks to the Volkswagen Gol and gained market share in Argentina (from 10% in 1987 to 18.6% in 1996). Market liberalization also made it unnecessary to have separate development lines for Latin America, and both manufacturers wanted to incorporate theirs into the global brand lineups. The companies thus resumed their separate activities, regaining whatever physical assets they had before the merger.

Truck Division

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWCV; german: Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge , abbreviated ''VWN'' ) is a German marque of light commercial vehicles, owned by Volkswagen Group. It is headquartered in Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany. Originally part ...

and Ford Trucks were built alongside each other in the Ipiranga complex, both shared parts and platforms. Ford kept manufacturing trucks for Volkswagen for a while after the break-up, although they proceeded to develop their own truck manufacturing capacity. The Truck Division also exported trucks to the

Paccar Paccar Inc is an American ''Fortune'' 500 company and counts among the largest manufacturers of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the world, and has substantial manufacturing in light and medium vehicles through its various subsidiaries. It was ...

Group in the United States, where they were sold with

Kenworth Kenworth Truck Company is an American truck manufacturer. Founded in 1923 as the successor to Gersix Motor Company, Kenworth specializes in production of heavy-duty ( Class 8) and medium-duty (Class 5–7) commercial vehicles. Headquartered in ...

and Peterbilt badging.

References

External links

Autolatina
on Lexicar Brasil {{automotive industry in Brazil Car manufacturers of Brazil Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Brazil Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1987 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1995 Joint ventures Volkswagen Group factories Ford factories Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Argentina 1987 establishments in Brazil 1995 disestablishments in Brazil