Here’s how Ford goes hunting for ex-Apple
The world of four wheels is changing rapidly and to remain competitive, manufacturers are looking to integrated software and autonomous driving. That's why Ford blows Apple one of the top men
Many analysts agree that the car market of the future will be quite different from the current one. Four wheels no longer represent a status symbol that 18-year-olds demand from their parents as soon as they get their driving licence: young people prefer to get around on a scooter and, where possible, rely on electric car sharing. After all, today's gallops in the price of petrol and the costs of the RC Auto already suggest that keeping a car will be increasingly difficult. If we add to this that young people have very low wages and that the electric race will push price lists up, the picture is complete. In short, this is why it is believed that many brands, in order to survive, will start providing hi-tech subscription services.
FORD'S INVESTMENTS IN AUTONOMOUS DRIVING
All the car industries are already thinking about it a bit, but Ford seems to be the one that, after Tesla of course, started in good time to prepare the virtual framework (first with the collaboration of Microsoft, then Google) and more.
Let's not forget in particular that, albeit with ups and downs , the Dearborn brand has invested huge capitals in the research and development of algorithms for autonomous driving which it certainly does not want to consider 'burnt'.
It is no coincidence that at the beginning of spring the House of the blue oval launched its BlueCruise system (characterized by the "hands off, eyes-on" mode, i.e. without hands, but with eyes focused on the road) also in Great Britain, the Country in the Old Continent more permissive in terms of autonomous driving, thus becoming the first car manufacturer in Europe to offer a level 2.5 automated driving solution.
The BlueCruise system uses a combination of four radars and 360-degree cameras to detect its surroundings and can recognize oncoming traffic light signals and missing road divisions as indicators to prompt the driver to regain control of the vehicle. vehicle. In the US, where it has been on the roadways longest, 22% of the time spent driving is used by drivers according to Ford data.
FROM APPLE TO FORD
The fact that the blue oval brand has identified Peter Stern as the right man to fill the position of head of the newly established Ford Integrated Services suggests that other investments are on the way, perhaps also in the development of proprietary software for integrated solutions.
For most, the name of Peter Stern will probably mean nothing: he is a non-first-time manager, a graduate in law from Yale and a graduate in music and English from Harvard who began his professional career at McKinsey. So far nothing strange. Then the turning point. In 2016 , he joined Apple , where he was executive vice president and chief product, people and strategy officer of Time Warner cable.
A REALLY HI-TECH CV
In Cupertino, Stern was the Head of Services for over six years, closely following the launch of several solutions, including Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, MLS Season Pass and Apple One. In addition, he directed the marketing activities of all Apple services, including the App Store, Apple Card, Apple Pay, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple Maps and also oversaw the advertising activities of the multinational Apple.
In short, he will lead the unprecedented operating department with the task of developing software and applications for the three main divisions: Ford Blue, Ford Model and Ford Pro. Stern, we learn from the note released by the American company, will have such a crucial role report directly to Ford's Chief Executive Officer, Jim Farley. His duties will include overseeing the company's BlueCruise technology – all algorithms in advanced driver assistance systems.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/ecco-come-ford-va-a-caccia-di-ex-apple/ on Fri, 18 Aug 2023 10:13:11 +0000.