Ford Cuts Investment in Autonomous Vehicle Unit Argo
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DETROIT — Ford is pulling out of its investment in Argo AI, an autonomous vehicle company that it jointly owns, mainly with Volkswagen.
The company said on Oct. 26 in its third-quarter earnings materials that it is switching investment priorities from fully autonomous vehicles to advanced driver-assist systems.
Ford is taking a $2.7 billion accounting charge to reduce the value of its investment in Pittsburgh-based Argo, and it’s writing off a cash investment of about $500 million.
Due largely to the noncash accounting charge, the Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford reported a net loss of $827 million from July through September.
Ford said in a news release that it has concluded that large-scale commercialization of self-driving vehicles “will be further out than originally anticipated.” Yet customer enthusiasm for driver assist systems warranted additional commitment. Ford also said Argo had been unable to attract more investors.
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