Connected car: Ford and Google announce partnership
02/02/2021 - 09h34
HARMANT Adeline
In a press release issued this morning, Tuesday, February 2, 2021, Ford and Google announced a groundbreaking strategic partnership to accelerate Ford's transformation and reinvent the connected vehicle experience. This new partnership agreement has been signed for an initial period of 6 years and will begin in 2023. Among other things, it will enable millions of future Ford and Lincoln vehicles of all models to be equipped with Android technology, including integrated Google applications and services.
Image copyright: Flickr
Creation of a collaboration unit between the two companies:
To carry out this strategic partnership, Google and Ford are making great efforts and have set up a new collaboration group called Team Upshift. The American manufacturer specifies that this group takes advantage of the strengths of both entities and will thus push the limits of Ford's transformation and allow users to live personalized experiences. It will also open up new perspectives based on data.
Since Google is, as of this year, the official Cloud provider for the manufacturer, it will help it to take advantage of its artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analysis technologies. The goal is clear and is to modernise Ford's operations by powering connected automotive technologies. Possible new features include a new customer experience, personalized services, modernized tool development, the use of AI for employee training and many more.
What's New for Ford Vehicles of the Future :
Of course and thanks to the partnership between the car manufacturer and the data specialist, Ford customers who buy a vehicle after 2023 will be able to take full advantage of Android Auto and all the integrated applications. These include Google Assistant, Google Maps and Google Play. These applications will be complemented by other applications developed by Google, Ford and third party developers. They will mainly aim to improve driving and the overall experience in the vehicle.
In the context of this important announcement for the future of the manufacturer, Ford's president took the floor and said that as Ford continues its deepest transformation in its history with electrification, connectivity and the autonomous driving of its vehicles; this rapprochement with Google allows the establishment of a true innovation centre that is, among other things, capable of offering a personalised experience to its users but also of modernising the company.
The first innovations resulting from this exclusive strategic partnership are expected to be launched soon and may revolutionize the automotive sector and driving in general in view of the innovative capabilities of these two entities.