Ford Smart Mobility LLC Established to Develop, Invest in Mobility Services; Jim Hackett Named Subsidiary Chairman
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Ford Smart Mobility LLC established as a subsidiary of Ford Motor
Company with operations in Palo Alto, California, and Dearborn,
Michigan -
Ford Smart Mobility LLC will design, build, grow and invest in new
mobility services; move comes as Ford expands its business model to be
both an auto and a mobility company -
Jim Hackett named Ford Smart Mobility LLC chairman; former Steelcase
executive to leave Ford Board to lead company’s mobility services
business
DEARBORN, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ford Motor Company is announcing today the creation of Ford Smart
Mobility LLC, a new subsidiary formed to design, build, grow and invest
in emerging mobility services. Jim Hackett, former Steelcase vice
chairman and CEO, is leaving his position on the Ford Board of Directors
to serve as chairman of the new subsidiary.
Ford Smart Mobility LLC is part of Ford’s expanded business model to be
both an auto and a mobility company. The company is continuing to
focus on and investing in its core business – designing, manufacturing,
marketing, financing and servicing cars, SUVs, trucks and electrified
vehicles. At the same time, Ford aggressively is pursuing emerging
opportunities through Ford Smart Mobility, the company’s plan to be a
leader in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer
experience and data and analytics.
“Ford Smart Mobility and expanding into mobility services are
significant growth opportunities,” said Mark Fields, president and CEO,
Ford Motor Company. “Our plan is to quickly become part of the growing
transportation services market, which already accounts for $5.4 trillion
in annual revenue. Jim Hackett is the right visionary leader – with
extensive experience in business development and design – to take us
into the mobility services business in the future.”
Ford Smart Mobility LLC: Building and Investing in New Mobility
Services
The new Ford Smart Mobility LLC will build on the products, technologies
and Ford Smart Mobility innovations and work already under way at Ford
Motor Company. Working with Ford’s existing product development,
research and advanced engineering, marketing and data analytics teams –
which will remain unchanged – the subsidiary will develop commercially
ready mobility services and invest in promising mobility-related
ventures.
Designed to compete like a startup company, Ford Smart Mobility LLC will
design and build mobility services on its own, and collaborate with
start-ups and tech companies.
“Ensuring the freedom of mobility requires us to continually look beyond
the needs of today and interpret what mobility will mean to future
generations,” said Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford Motor Company.
“This new subsidiary will enable us to develop mobility solutions to
address the rapidly changing transportation challenges of an
increasingly crowded world.”
Reporting to Mark Fields, Hackett, as chairman of Ford Smart Mobility
LLC, will lead a team of business and technology leaders from inside and
outside the company.
Hackett: Consumer-Focused, Transformational Leader
As a consumer-focused, visionary leader in the office furniture
industry, Hackett is credited with expanding Steelcase’s business model
and becoming a global innovator. During his 30 years there, he helped
transform the company from a traditional office furniture manufacturer
to a company that would change the way people work. This included
predicting that the office landscape would shift away from cubicles to
an open space environment, giving employees the flexibility to work
where they want.
“I am absolutely thrilled to lead Ford’s mobility business into the
future,” said Hackett. “Transportation in the world today is on the cusp
of a major revolution, and Ford plans to lead the way by changing the
way the world moves through Ford Smart Mobility.”
A member of the Ford Motor Company Board of Directors since 2013,
Hackett served on the Audit, Sustainability and Innovation, and
Nominating and Governance committees. He resigned from the Ford Board
effective March 10 to join Ford Smart Mobility LLC.
Ford Smart Mobility: Changing the Way the World Moves
The world is becoming more crowded and urbanized, air quality is a
global issue, and customer preferences are changing rapidly. The Ford
Smart Mobility plan was established early last year to use technology
and innovation to address these trends and to make people’s lives
better. Already, significant progress has been made, including:
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Connectivity: Ford is a
leader in vehicle connectivity with the most popular entertainment and
communications system in the industry, Ford SYNC. This year, an
all-new, more intuitive SYNC
3 system is being offered on Ford and Lincoln vehicles. In
addition, new SYNC
Connect gives owners the ability to remotely access vehicle
features, including a remote start, unlocking doors, checking fuel
level or locating a parked vehicle on a smartphone. Additionally, SYNC
includes AppLink,
which enables drivers to voice-control smartphone apps from the
driver’s seat – allowing drivers to keep their eyes on the road and
hands on the wheel. -
Mobility: For the past 14
months, Ford has conducted more than 30 global mobility experiments to
gain insight into changing consumer transportation preferences.
Several ongoing pilot programs are under way, including: GoPark,
which builds a predictive parking system in London capable of
directing drivers to streets where they are most likely to find a
space; GoDrive,
a car sharing program in London that provides vehicles with guaranteed
parking at busy locations, such as London City Airport; and Dynamic
Shuttle, a program at Ford’s Dearborn, Michigan, campus that
allows employees and visitors to summon point-to-point rides on-demand. -
Autonomous Vehicles: Ford this
year will have the largest test fleet of autonomous vehicles of any
automaker – with vehicles on the road in California, Arizona and
Michigan. Ford also is the first to test autonomous
vehicles in the snow – a major step in the company’s plan to bring
fully autonomous vehicles to millions of customers worldwide. At the
same time, Ford
is tripling its engineering investment in driver assist and
semi-autonomous vehicle technology – such as adaptive cruise control,
active park assist, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping aid,
pedestrian detection, Pro Trailer Backup Assist and vehicle-to-vehicle
connection technology – during the next five years. -
Consumer Experience: Ford
this year is introducing FordPass
– a free digital, physical and personal platform that offers four
benefits for members: a Marketplace with mobility services, such as
parking and sharing; FordGuides to help consumers move more
efficiently; Appreciation for members to receive recognition for their
loyalty; and FordHubs, where consumers can experience Ford’s latest
innovations. The first hub opens later this year in New York City. -
Data and Analytics: To
better anticipate customer wants and needs, Ford is increasing funding
for data science and analytics research as the foundation of the Ford
Smart Mobility plan. One example is Ford
and IBM collaborating on a pilot platform that allows research
scientists to look at tiny pieces of data – 10 or 15 seconds at a time
– to spot patterns, correlations and trends, and write code to make
more efficient transportation decisions to support the company’s
Dynamic Shuttle experiment.
Related Materials:
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For Ford Smart Mobility News, click
here. -
For biographical information and photos of Jim Hackett, click
here.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford
Motor Company is a global automotive and mobility company
based in Dearborn, Michigan. With about 199,000 employees and 67 plants
worldwide, the company’s core business includes designing,
manufacturing, marketing, financing and servicing a full line of Ford
cars, trucks, SUVs and electrified vehicles, as well as Lincoln luxury
vehicles. At the same time, Ford is aggressively pursuing emerging
opportunities through Ford Smart Mobility, the company’s plan to be a
leader in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer
experience, and data and analytics. For more information regarding Ford,
its products worldwide or Ford Motor Credit Company, visit www.corporate.ford.com.
For news releases, related materials and high-resolution photos and
video, visit www.media.ford.com.
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Contacts
Ford Motor Company
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