Volkswagen's Group minivans built its first generation of minivans together with Ford, but for the second generation unveiled in 2010 relied only on its own resources.

Volkswagen and Ford worked together to counteract the Eurovan alliance made between Fiat and PSA Group, and in 1995 they launched a range of minivans sold under three different badges.

Apart from the French brands, other European carmakers didn't enjoy the same success on the minivan market, and Volkswagen tried to get a slice of the pie. But to develop a program only for its brand was very expensive. Ford was in the same position, so the two carmakers cut a deal by sharing the costs, and thus the badge-engineered siblings of Ford Galaxy, Volkswagen Sharan, and SEAT Alhambra took off. All three of them were built on the same assembly line in Spain.