Dearborn-based Ford Motor Co. will expand its partnership with California-based software company Pivotal to build a software program to support FordPass, a platform that allows customers to talk to personal mobility assistants to help resolve parking and other challenges.
“With FordPass, we are making it easier for consumers, whether they own a Ford vehicle or not, to get where they need to go,” says Elena Ford, vice president of global dealer and consumer experience at Ford. “Working with Pivotal, Ford will be able to rapidly add new features and adapt mobility solutions and services that benefit FordPass members in the ways that fit them best.”
FordPass, first introduced at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in January, is a free digital platform that will offer customers mobility services such as parking and sharing; rewards for customer loyalty; and access to FordHubs in New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, and Shanghai where customers can experience the automaker’s latest innovations. FordPass will also offer Ford vehicle owners with Sync Connect technology to remotely start, lock and unlock, and locate their vehicle.
Rob Mee, CEO of Pivotal, says it will offer the automaker a cloud platform along with analytics capabilities. Ford first teamed up with Pivotal in December to improve its Sync Connect technology. SYNC Connect makes its debut in the spring in the new Ford Escape, with other vehicles to follow.
Ford is also working with Pivotal on its Dynamic Shuttle service for employees at its Dearborn campus that offers point-to-point on-demand rides, along with GoDrive, an on-demand public car-sharing pilot in London.
