Ford Motor Company announced that it has created Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC, a new organization charged with accelerating its autonomous vehicle business to capitalize on the market opportunities with an investment of $4 billion through 2023, including its $1 billion investment in Argo AI. The company is organizing its self-driving business into Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC, which 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.
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Sherif Marakby, currently Ford vice president, Autonomous Vehicles and Electrification, is appointed CEO of Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC and will report to the board of directors chaired by Marcy Klevorn, Ford's executive vice president and president, Mobility. The new LLC will be primarily based at Ford's Corktown campus in Detroit and will hold Ford's ownership stake in Argo AI, the company's Pittsburgh-based partner for self-driving system development.
(Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC)
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"Ford has made tremendous progress across the self-driving value chain - from technology development to business model innovation to user experience," said Jim Hackett, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company. "Now is the right time to consolidate our autonomous driving platform into one team to best position the business for the opportunities ahead."
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With the new subsidiary, Ford hopes to align the self-driving platform and the mobility solutions teams to allow faster development of businesses that can thrive in the pre- and post-autonomous vehicle worlds. Ford's electric vehicle strategy includes rethinking the ownership experience, including making charging an effortless experience at home and on the road, as well as offering full-vehicle over-the-air software updates to enhance capability and features.
