NAIAS 2017: Ford previews plans in solving public mobility

Aside from coming up with new ideas to further boost its vehicle line-up, Ford is also making an initiative to improve public mobility. As such, the Blue Oval brand introduced its vision “City of Tomorrow” at this year’s North American International Auto Show (NAIAS).  

Ford is currently working with various cities around the world to address urban environment mobility challenges through its City Solutions team. Furthermore, the team is said to begin collaboration with Bloomberg Philanthropies and its global coalition of mayors to help find solutions for the growing challenges in mobility.

Ford Motor Company’s executive chairman Bill Ford recognizes this issue as far beyond traffic congestion. He further noted that this serves as a massive challenge to mankind, so as it will affect the public’s access to health care, as well as residential and business areas.

By solving the mobility challenge, we have the chance to create a better world for future generations. It’s both an exciting opportunity and a big responsibility”, says Bill Ford.

Of note, the City of Tomorrow aims for near-term solutions and mobility advancements, which include autonomous and electric vehicles, ride-sharing and ride-hailing, and connected vehicles. An example of such is reconfigurable roads which fluidly respond to the commuter’s needs, as well as the traffic flow.

Moreover, the vision involves near term and long term plans, of which both play a huge role as Ford envisages the future. Near term plans include autonomous, electric vehicles (EV), and connected cars communicating with each other. Long term, on the other hand, involves mass transits for largest cities, and drones to monitor and map areas after serious calamities.

It is a bright and positive future in the eyes of Ford as it expects a hit in more electrified vehicles for the next 15 years. Furthermore, its vision expands to the introduction of autonomous vehicles in more cities around the world, and along with this is their plan to introduce their first fully-autonomous vehicle line sometime in 2021.