Ford's recently collaborated with the City of Ann Arbor, Mich., to pilot its Ford City Insight Program, a suite of advanced software tools that allows cities to identify and solve myriad mobility issues.

The program uses parking, transit, traffic, safety, and census data to help city planners see their entire mobility ecosystem, predict problems, and explore various solutions.

"Weaving together all the data that’s needed to make a platform like this possible isn’t easy, which is why collaboration is so important," Ford's Brett Wheatley, VP of mobility, marketing, and growth, said in a blog post. "We teamed up with the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, the Downtown Development Authority, and Ann Arbor SPARK, as well as the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute to help determine the best way to not only synchronize the data, but also ensure privacy is maintained every step of the way."

Ford has helped the city analyze its parking infrastructure. They were able to gather data on traffic flow an come up with solutions to fix parking issues. The city used Ford's programs in other areas as well, including pedestrian safety.

Ford plans to expand its partnership beyond Ann Arbor to six more U.S. cities, including Austin, Texas, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and Detroit.