Ford creates self-driving vehicles unit, to invest $4B
FoxNews.com Automotive Editor Gary Gastelu on Ford's investment in driverless-car startup Argo and Toyota's investment in ride-hailing company Grab.
Ford is organizing its self-driving business into “Ford Autonomous Vehicles” unit, which it said will help accelerate the business’ growth and capitalize on market opportunities.
“Now is the right time to consolidate our autonomous driving platform into one team to best position the business for the opportunities ahead,” Ford CEO Jim Hackett said in a statement.
The new business is structured to take on third-party investment and will be based primarily at Ford’s Corktown campus in Detroit and will hold the automaker’s ownership stake in Argo AI – its partner for self-driving system development. Ford expects to invest $4 billion in its AV efforts through 2023, including its $1 billion investment in Argo AI.
Ford Autonomous Vehicles will include Ford’s self-driving systems integration, autonomous vehicle research and advanced engineering, AV transportation-as-a-service network development, user experience, business strategy and business development teams.