Short sightedness, even in the face of success has been the downfall of many companies throughout history. This is the fate that Ford does not desire for itself and in a pursuit to be a company that continues to enjoy another hundred or more years of success, Ford has announced a new direction and a new plan that can help bring it into the future. This new program is called the Smart Mobility Project and it consists of twenty-five programs to help make Ford solvent and successful for the next century and beyond.
Companies that have survived for more than a hundred years, especially those that produce products for us to enjoy have to stay abreast of technology and market needs in order to continue to produce the items that are needed to be fully successful. At times the need is to partner with other companies that are already on a path to great success in the latest technology and for Ford this means a possible change to partner with Google regarding the research into autonomous driving technology. Currently the plan is to partner with Google in regards to ride sharing systems that will be similar to Uber, but in a vehicle that will do the driving for you.
Another way Ford is working toward the next segment of technology is through the mapping and remote controlling of fleet vehicles. Imagine a time when a fleet manager can control all the vehicles of their fleet from one central control hub without the need to have drivers in them. Currently, in order to make this an eventual possibility Ford has cars in Africa that are equipped with the OpenXC software to map the routes for medical supplies, making it possible for these vehicles to help create the database needed to improve the self-driving technology.
Does this mean Ford won’t be a car manufacturer in the future? Not at all, the Smart Mobility Plan will be implemented into the business of building cars and be a way Ford is able to expand and be the first name in mobility in the future. We already see that Ford wants to make your car capable of transforming into a unicycle for you to ride around town or on campus while the car is parked, which makes for an ideal mobile partnership for you. This is only one step toward the goal of going into the next one hundred years and continues to be the success we have enjoyed so far.
As you can probably imagine, with the partnership that should be made with Google and the possible electrically powered cycle attachment, Ford intends to make a major investment, as much as $4.5 billion into the EV and hybrid developments over the next few years and to bring us as many as thirteen new vehicles with this technology by the years 2020. That makes the strides forward and the improved technology and the plan for the next century one we can easily see that Ford is taking seriously. Whether or not other companies will follow suit is yet to be determined, but you can be certain they will as soon as they see that Ford is once again way ahead of them.
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