Ford and Google have announced a strategic partnership designed to accelerate Ford’s transformation and reinvent the connected vehicle experience. As part of this new, six-year partnership – and beginning in 2023 – millions of future Ford and Lincoln vehicles will be powered by Android, with Google apps and services built-in, such as Google Maps, Google Assistant and Google Play.
As part of the new partnership, the two companies are also establishing a collaborative group, called Team Upshift. The new group will launch personalised consumer experiences, and drive disruptive, data-driven opportunities. This may include projects ranging from developing new retail experiences when buying a vehicle to creating new ownership offers based on data.
Jim Farley, President and CEO of Ford, says: “As Ford continues the most profound transformation in our history with electrification, connectivity and self-driving, Google and Ford coming together establishes an innovation powerhouse truly able to deliver a superior experience for our customers and modernize our business.”
He adds: “We are obsessed with creating must-have, distinctively Ford products and services. This integration will unleash our teams to innovate for Ford and Lincoln customers while seamlessly providing access to Google’s world-class apps and services.”
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, adds: “From the first moving assembly line to the latest driver-assist technology, Ford has set the pace of innovation for the automotive industry for nearly 120 years. We’re proud to partner to apply the best of Google’s AI, data analytics, compute and cloud platforms to help transform Ford’s business and build automotive technologies that keep people safe and connected on the road.”
Ford has also named Google Cloud its preferred cloud provider to leverage Google’s expertise in data, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML).
