Graphic courtesy of Ford.

Graphic courtesy of Ford.

Ford is looking to leverage burgeoning vehicle connectivity technology to deliver improved data services and fleet optimization for commercial fleets, which is part of the Ford Mobility team’s strategy to accelerate delivery of mobility products and services to customers in 2018.

Ford’s mobility team looks to deliver improved digital services to fleet, personal, and city customers by providing 100% connectivity of new vehicles in the U.S. by 2019, with a goal of 90% connectivity on a global scale by 2020, according to the automaker.

Ford also plans to accelerate its strategy via the expansion of the Transportation Mobility Cloud, its open, cloud-based platform, which manages information flow and basic transactions between a variety of components in the transportation ecosystem, said Ford. The expansion will include the involvement of other automakers, suppliers, partners and cities. Also, a developer network to build and support the system also will be launched.

Ford is also expanding its ride-sharing technologies via Chariot, the cornerstone of Ford’s microtransit solutions, and will see an acceleration of city launches globally this year. Further still, Ford Mobility will expand its non-emergency medical transportation operation from a Southeast Michigan pilot with Beaumont Health into a full business serving multiple medical systems, Ford announced in a release.

Ford acquired two organizations to support its growth in mobility solutions: Autonomic, which specializes in scale, architecture and leverage for transportation industry solutions; and TransLoc, which is a provider of demand-response technology for city-owned microtransit solutions, according to the automaker.

Ford also is announcing the reorganization of the teams developing and scaling mobility solutions.

The reorganization will establish four new groups focused on mobility products, services and businesses: Ford X, which is responsible for ensuring Ford is continuously discovering and actively incubating new business models, and will oversee the Transportation Mobility Cloud platform; Mobility Business Group, which will oversee Ford Commercial Solutions, Ford’s microtransit businesses, autonomous vehicle businesses, and other future businesses; Mobility Platforms and Products, which will lead design and development for the technology underpinning Ford’s mobility businesses; and Mobility Marketing and Growth, which will seek to drive demand with consumers and commercial customers, and ensure the voice of the customer is heard throughout the organization.

With the new reorganization, several leadership appointments are also being announced: Sunny Madra, CEO and cofounder of Autonomic, will join Ford as VP, Ford X; Marion Harris, CFO, Ford Credit, will be named VP, Mobility Business Group; Rich Strader, who is named VP, Mobility Platforms and Products; and Brett Wheatley, director, Ford Marketing, Sales and Service Fitness Transformation, named VP, Mobility Marketing and Growth.

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