The line between competitors and partners in the automotive industry has been blurring for many years. A good example of this is the Autoeuropa Automóveis Lda. assembly plant in Palmera, Portugal, near Lisbon.
Ford Europe and the Volkswagen Group jointly opened the facility in May 1995, after four years of preparation. But, Volkswagen became the plant’s sole owner and operator in December 1999, and has manufactured millions of cars there ever since. The company produced more than 100,000 vehicles in 2017, including the SEAT Alhambra and Volkswagen Sharan, Eos, Scirocco and T-Roc.