Google and Ford have announced a first-of-its-kind partnership “that promises to transform both Ford and the auto industry,” Google Cloud CEO, Thomas Kurian, told reporters during a virtual press conference on Monday.
“We both believe that the relationship between Google and Ford will establish an innovation powerhouse,” David McClelland, Ford vice president strategy and partnerships, added. “It will accelerate the modernization of our business and Ford, and most importantly, it will let us exceed our customers expectations.”
Ford wouldn’t say which of its vehicles will get the Android operating system starting in 2023, only that “millions” of vehicles under the Ford and Lincoln brands would have it. The vehicles will be available across the globe except in China. But Ford wouldn’t say whether it will use Google’s Android Automotive product, which is embedded natively in the vehicle. Instead, its use of Android would be “uniquely Ford and Lincoln,” Ford’s VP of strategy and partnerships, David McClelland, said in a conference call with reporters.
In addition, Ford is signing a six-year partnership with Google to use the tech giant’s Cloud as its preferred cloud provider for its connected vehicle services. And Ford and Google will create a new group, comprised of employees from both companies, called Team Upshift that will be tasked with finding other areas of innovation.
“We’re going to leverage the talent and assets of both companies to push the boundaries of Ford’s transformation, unlock personalized consumer experiences, and drive disruptive, data-driven opportunities,” McClelland said in a Medium post. “This may include projects ranging from modernizing our plants through vision AI, developing new retail experiences when buying a vehicle, creating new ownership offers based on connected vehicle data, and more.”
Team Upshift will work with third party app makers to develop additional driver-facing and infotainment services for Ford’s Android-powered vehicles. “We also have the mechanism to get data from the cars,” McClelland explained. “It can also go into the analytic system in the cloud and provide capabilities for example, around helping the consumer detect when to bring their car in for service warranties.” However, McClelland clarified that no personal data collected from drivers will be made available to third-party devs.
“Once you have a platform that lets you get data and analyze it,” he continued. “There’s lots of very simple but transformative experiences that you can offer drivers: for example, assisting them when they need to schedule a service appointment with the dealer or helping them shop for cars better by personalizing the shopping experiences.”
