Ford and Lincoln cars will be powered by Google operating system beginning 2023 as part of a six-year partnership announced Monday.
To drive ongoing innovation, Ford and Google said they are establishing a new collaborative group, Team Upshift.
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 establishes 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.
Ford has also named Google Cloud its preferred cloud provider.
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.
Beginning in 2023, Ford and Lincoln customers globally will start to benefit from unique digital experiences built on top of the Android operating system and with Google apps and services built-in, which include world-class map and voice technology:
- With Google Assistant, drivers can keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel, by getting things done with just their voice.
- With Google Maps as the vehicles’ primary navigation, drivers can reach their destination faster with information on real-time traffic, automatic rerouting, lane guidance and more.
- With Google Play, drivers will have access to their favorite apps for listening to music, podcasts, audiobooks and more. These apps are optimized and integrated for in-vehicle use.
- Android in the car also enables Ford and third-party developers to build apps that provide a constantly improving and ever-more-personalized ownership experience.
