Ford and Google to Accelerate Auto Innovation

Dearborn,  Feb 3.  Ford  and  Google  today  announced  a  unique  strategic partnership  to  accelerate  Ford’s  transformation  and  reinvent  the  connected  vehicle  experience.  Ford  has  also  named Google Cloud its preferred cloud provider to leverage Google’s world-class expertise in data, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML). As part of this new, six-year partnership—and beginning in 2023—millions of future Ford and Lincoln vehicles at all price points will be powered by Android, with Google apps and services built-in.

To drive ongoing innovation, Ford and Google are establishing a new collaborative group, Team Upshift. Leveraging the  talent  and  assets  of  both  companies,  Team  Upshift  will  push  the  boundaries  of  Ford’s  transformation,  unlock personalized consumer experiences, and drive disruptive, data-driven opportunities. This may include projects ranging from developing new retail experiences when buying a vehicle, creating new ownership offers based on data, and more.

“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 Jim Farley, President and CEO of Ford.

“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,” said SundarPichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. “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.”

As  its  preferred  cloud  provider  and  starting  later  this  year,  Google  will  help  Ford  leverage  Google  Cloud’s  AI,  ML and data analytics technologies to accelerate the automaker’s digital transformation, modernize operations, and power connected vehicle technologies with Google’s trusted, secure, and reliable cloud. With Google Cloud, Ford plans to: