FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen <VOWG_p.DE> and Ford <F.N> are in preliminary talks over a development and production alliance for commercial transporter vans, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
An announcement could come as soon as Tuesday after Volkswagen's <VOWG_p.DE> supervisory board gave its managers a green light to strike a deal with U.S.-based Ford, two Germany-based sources said.
The goal is a partnership to share development and production costs, the sources said. Some preliminary talks have already been held, one of them said.
Volkswagen declined to comment on a possible alliance with Ford, but said: "As a leading automotive producer we consider various joint ventures with other companies across the globe."
Ford in Europe had no immediate comment.
(Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Edward Taylor; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Sabine Wollrab)
