Ford and Volkswagen are working toward making a major announcement during the Detroit auto show on Jan. 15, people close to months-long talks about an alliance between the two automakers confirmed Wednesday.

Sources in the U.S. say the situation is fluid but hopeful. "Nothing is definite," a person familiar with the discussions told the Free Press.

The North American International Auto Show media schedule lists a "pending industry announcement" for Tuesday morning at the Cobo Center Atrium stage.

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Volkswagen and Ford have been talking since summer about areas of potential cooperation. The companies "will unveil a deeper alliance" during the show "that goes beyond cooperating in the area of commercial vehicles," the original area of talks, two sources familiar with the plan told Reuters. Bloomberg reported that the VW board is to discuss the alliance on Friday, and approval would lead to an announcement on Tuesday.

Jim Farley, global markets president at Ford, did not confirm any timeline, but told reporters after the 2020 Explorer launch event Wednesday at Ford Field that the company expects “a lot of big news” to share in coming days.

He confirmed “very deep” discussion with Volkswagen and said it was going “very well” and he was “really encouraged with the progress.”

The auto companies agreed not to discuss details or plans publicly this week, sources told the Free Press.

"Our memorandum of understanding with VW covers conversations about potential collaborations across a number of areas," said Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Flake. "It is premature to share additional details at this time. We look forward to sharing an update soon."

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Volkswagen spokesman Mark Clothier declined to comment, saying the Wolfsburg, Germany, company policy prohibits speculative discussion.

"A global alliance is expected," an anonymous source told Reuters in the story datelined from Hamburg, Germany, and Detroit.

Multiple sources told the Free Press that breadth and details of the expected alliance are still not final, though ongoing talks have included a cost-cutting partnership involving electric and driverless technology.

Both Ford and VW sources have said in recent months that talks are proceeding as hoped. The companies also have said any partnership won't be a merger or include equity stakes.

"Volkswagen is reviewing whether to invest in Ford’s autonomous vehicles division, while Ford executives are considering licensing Volkswagen’s MEB electric vehicles platform," Reuters reported.

At Ford Field, Farley said partners must “pick the right projects," protect their brands and make sure executive leadership is “aligned."

“We’ve had a lot of joint product programs all around the world,” he said. “It has got to be a balanced relationship.”

Farley continued, “I would say the Volkswagen today is a company that’s — you know, we recognize — they’re a good match from a geographic standpoint … There’s a lot of comfort, I would say. We both have to improve our business results. We know each other and, I think, with the leadership of both companies, and that’s not just the CEO but all of us, we really feel , we’ve really enjoyed getting to know each other.”

'Big, bold move'

News of a potential announcement won praise from industry analysts.

"This is a very big, bold move," said Charles Ballard, an economics professor at Michigan State University. "The scale of the proposed alliance tells us a lot about the wrenching changes that are being wrought in the industry by trade wars and changes in technology and consumer preferences."

Jon Gabrielsen, a market economist who advises automakers and auto suppliers, said partnerships are crucial to all serious players moving forward.

“The global auto industry is rapidly becoming one in which major scale is critical," he said. "Ford’s scale is not large enough and VW has insufficient presence in the U.S. In addition, they each have significant challenges in China and in trying to be the most competitive in electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles for the future.

"Everyone is anxiously awaiting more information from VW and Ford of the full nature of their critical alliances for a successful future in the many areas that have been mentioned as potential for the alliance," Gabrielsen said.

John McElroy, host of "Autoline This Week" and the son of a retired Ford executive, said the alliance could be massive in terms of industry transformation, even if the news leaks just a bit at a time.

"If VW is able to use Ford’s development in autonomy and if Ford is able to use Volkswagen’s development in electrification, it’s not just the cost savings that is important — and that would be big — but it's getting products to the market much, much faster," he said. "Bang! This is cost savings and time savings."

He continued, "Additionally, Volkswagen is looking at having Ford build vehicles for VW in the U.S. market. That would be such a win-win for both companies. Volkswagen has nowhere near the market share that it should have as the largest or second largest car company in the world."

Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University, said a partnership with VW "is a very significant step in the right direction for Ford."

The move would recognize the realities of a changing market in which the cost of competition is high and growing, he said. "This is an opportunity for two companies to combine resources, drive economies of scale and get ahead of the curve on electric cars. ... That'll be good for their positions in terms of growth in areas of research and new product development. Why reinvent the wheel if it's already there?"

More jobs

The move, Masters predicted, could result in more jobs in both companies.

Rory Gamble, UAW vice president, said in response to the latest news, “We would wholeheartedly support this, if it happens, and we expect that Ford and VW will create jobs for families and communities that are good-paying union-represented jobs.”

The Detroit-based UAW union soon begins contract negotiations for about 156,000 workers employed by General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Ford alone employs about 56,000 union workers.

Ford is the largest car manufacturing employer in America, with more than 85,000 U.S. employees, and 201,000 globally, including an estimated 70,000 salaried workers.

Kristin Dziczek, vice president of industry, labor and economics at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, said the synergies for the two major carmakers and the potential to share vehicle platforms, technology, and production are huge.

"VW is also very strong in China, where Ford has struggled to get a strong foothold, and this partnership could help there," she said. "Also, potential trade changes like Section 232 trade action on autos and parts would bring opportunities to share U.S. powertrain production capacity versus VW building new facilities in the United States to avoid import tariffs or quotas."

Ford stock was up more than 4 percent Wednesday, to its highest level in a month.

VW hires Apple exec

Also on Wednesday, Volkswagen announced the immediate hiring of an Apple Inc. executive named Alexander Hitzinger, 47, who worked as senior director of hardware engineering as the new member of the Brand Board of Management for Technical Development at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

He will be in charge of driverless technology activities for VW, the company said.

Hitzinger started his career in 1997 as a development engineer with Toyota Motorsport in Germany. From 2000-03, he managed the development department World Rally Car with the British engine manufacturer Cosworth, where he was in charge of the Formula 1 Development department from 2003 to 2006. And then, until 2011, Hitzinger was head of advanced technologies at Red Bull Technology (UK).

From 2011-16, Hitzinger worked at Porsche for the Le Mans World Endurance Championship as Technical Director LMP1. In this function, he was responsible for the development of the 919 hybrid long-distance racing car. In 2016, Hitzinger went to Apple.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is an independent brand of the Volkswagen Group and is responsible globally for the development, construction and sales of light commercial vehicles.

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: phoward@freepress.com or 313-222-6512. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid