Up until now, self driving cars have only been touted by companies like Google and Tesla. In the case of the former, it’s still in beta. In the case of the latter, the capabilities are limited. Ford has upped the ante by committing to having self driving cars available for sale for ride sharing purposes by 2021:
To get there, the company is investing in or collaborating with four startups to enhance its autonomous vehicle development, doubling its Silicon Valley team and more than doubling its Palo Alto campus.
“The next decade will be defined by automation of the automobile, and we see autonomous vehicles as having as significant an impact on society as Ford’s moving assembly line did 100 years ago,” said Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO. “We’re dedicated to putting on the road an autonomous vehicle that can improve safety and solve social and environmental challenges for millions of people – not just those who can afford luxury vehicles.”
Autonomous vehicles in 2021 are part of Ford Smart Mobility, the company’s plan to be a leader in autonomous vehicles, as well as in connectivity, mobility, the customer experience, and data and analytics.
This is an interesting move by Ford as they are now the first of what I will call the “traditional” automakers to fully commit to developing this technology and getting it into the marketplace. One has to wonder how long it will take the GM’s, Honda’s and BMW’s of the world to make a similar announcement?
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This entry was posted on August 18, 2016 at 9:50 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Ford. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Ford Commits To Self Driving Cars By 2021
Up until now, self driving cars have only been touted by companies like Google and Tesla. In the case of the former, it’s still in beta. In the case of the latter, the capabilities are limited. Ford has upped the ante by committing to having self driving cars available for sale for ride sharing purposes by 2021:
To get there, the company is investing in or collaborating with four startups to enhance its autonomous vehicle development, doubling its Silicon Valley team and more than doubling its Palo Alto campus.
“The next decade will be defined by automation of the automobile, and we see autonomous vehicles as having as significant an impact on society as Ford’s moving assembly line did 100 years ago,” said Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO. “We’re dedicated to putting on the road an autonomous vehicle that can improve safety and solve social and environmental challenges for millions of people – not just those who can afford luxury vehicles.”
Autonomous vehicles in 2021 are part of Ford Smart Mobility, the company’s plan to be a leader in autonomous vehicles, as well as in connectivity, mobility, the customer experience, and data and analytics.
This is an interesting move by Ford as they are now the first of what I will call the “traditional” automakers to fully commit to developing this technology and getting it into the marketplace. One has to wonder how long it will take the GM’s, Honda’s and BMW’s of the world to make a similar announcement?
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This entry was posted on August 18, 2016 at 9:50 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Ford. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.