Since becoming Ford Motor Co.’s CEO in October, Jim Farley has been vocal about Ford’s need to find strategic partners who can add real value to Ford and Lincoln vehicles and help transform the company into a leading-edge mobility provider. Ford’s search for such partnerships took a major step forward this week when the company announced a new partnership with Google.
According to the announcement, the six-year, multi-million dollar deal will transition Ford and Lincoln away from featuring Ford’s Sync infotainment system to instead using Google’s Android operating system, Google Assistant, Google Maps, and Google Play by 2023.
Google Assistant will enable drivers to use a variety of vehicle functions hands-free, keeping their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. Google Maps will serve as the vehicles’ primary navigation system, which is already a popular GPS choice thanks to Android Auto on mobile devices. With Google Play, drivers will have access to their favorite apps for listening to music, podcasts, and audiobooks. These apps will be optimized and integrated for in-vehicle use, going a step further than simply connecting a mobile device to a vehicle via Bluetooth.
Integrating the Android operating system into vehicles also enables Ford and third-party developers to build apps that provide a constantly improving and more-personalized ownership experience.
Ford also plans to use Google Cloud services for additional customer-engagement activities such as sending messages to vehicle owners about maintenance schedules or trade-in opportunities. To further improve the customer experience and offer more personalized services, the company plans to leverage Google Cloud’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities.
Customers aren’t the only beneficiaries of this new partnership. Ford will use Google’s AI, ML, and data analytics technologies to modernize its product development, manufacturing, and supply chain management. The company said it will explore the use of vision AI for manufacturing employee training and improving plant equipment performance.
“As Ford continues the most profound transformation in our history with electrification, connectivity, and self-driving, Google and Ford coming together establish an innovation powerhouse truly able to deliver a superior experience for our customers and modernize our business,” said Farley. “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.”
The new Ford-Google partnership also helps the Dearborn, MI-based automaker keep pace with its biggest competitor, General Motors. In 2019, GM announced a deal to integrate Google apps and voice assistant into GM vehicles, starting this year.
