In case you haven’t yet heard, Ford is investing a sizable chunk of its resources into its research division, specifically diving into the development of autonomous driving, ride sharing, car sharing, connectivity, driver/vehicle interface, and vehicular intelligence platforms.
In an effort to further accelerate the progress of this future changing technologies, Ford feels that a certain amount of autonomy is necessary, that the team (teams?) responsible for bringing forward thinking breakthroughs into the feasible reality are, for the most part, unimpeded by the company’s finer movements.
That’s why they’re spinning all that research efforts into a newly christened subsidiary called Ford Smart Mobility LLC. Heading up the new company will be Jim Hackett, who is stepping down from his position on the Ford board of directors to take the reins at Smart Mobility. He will report directly to Ford CEO Mark Fields.
This is a bold move by Ford, an industry pioneer, to become a leader in emerging technologies that will drastically influence the future of personal transportation. Right now, newer names are becoming synonymous with this burgeoning field.
As an example, Google has been researching various inroads to a fully autonomous car, with Apple reported to be thinking along similar lines. Uber is expanding its ride-sharing dominance with self-driving initiatives. Newcomers to the automotive manufacturer list such as Tesla and, even more recently, Faraday Future, are not shy about going after the next big shift.
There’s certainly no lack of competition.
Ford Smart Mobility LLC will be operating facilities in Palo Alto, California as well as Detroit, Michigan. According to Ford, it will run “like a startup,”
