Ford Commits $4 Billion to the Future, Creates New AV Subsidiary

Ford Motor Company announced Tuesday that it has formed formed a subsidiary — Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC — devoted entirely to autonomous vehicle development. That’s probably the catchiest name we’ve heard since Bank of America Corp or Waste Management Inc. However, you don’t need a clever moniker when you’re dumping $4 billion into a project, which Ford intends to do through 2023.

With all the current drama and distrust surrounding self-driving cars, we thought there was a chance automakers would cool off on pushing for it so aggressively. But while some OEMs curbed their futuristic rhetoric ever so slightly, practically everyone else kept the pedal to the metal — an analogy that will lose all meaning once computers drive us everywhere.

Let’s see what The Future™ looks like in and around Dearborn.

“Ford has made tremendous progress across the self driving value chain — from technology development to business model innovation to user experience,” said Ford CEO Jim Hackett in a statement. “Now is the right time to consolidate our autonomous driving platform into one team to best position the business for the opportunities ahead.”

Nobody could forget the industry staple that is “the self driving value chain.” Knowing that Ford has made progress with that is tantamount to a grand success already.

Alright, snide remarks on corporate jargon aside, the folks at the Blue Oval are investing a lot into self-driving vehicles. General Motors seems to be frontrunner, but Ford isn’t far behind. Both companies are investing heavily into the technology, convinced that it’s the best way to ensure long-term financial victory. Although the really big bucks seem to be tied into data sales, connectivity, and various subscriptions — all of which becomes more lucrative once cars can drive themselves.

The second you’re not preoccupied with driving your own vehicle, you’ll likely use its multimedia system to surf the web, make online purchases, or take in a movie. Automakers can charge for all of these things while selling your personal data to the companies they’ve partnered with, who will then advertise to you in-car. But that’s just part of a grander whole. Last year, a report from Intel estimated that self-driving vehicles will usher in a new “passenger economy” worth $7 trillion by 2050.

Autonomous vehicles are also supposed to save countless lives (when operating correctly) and reduce commuting times (once the vast majority of vehicles are no longer human operated). But those are just selling points. The real incentive is all the cash just waiting to be grabbed by whichever companies get there first.

It all sounds very boring, greedy, and somewhat improbable. But, with enough money, just about anything is possible. How else do you think we got to the moon?

Ford is spending roughly $4 billion to plant its self-driving money tree. The first billion has already been committed as part of the company’s investment into Argo AI, a Pittsburgh startup that has become its chief partner in autonomous development.

Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC will be primarily based at Ford’s Corktown campus in Detroit and will hold Ford’s ownership stake in Argo AI. It will also include Ford’s self-driving systems integration, autonomous vehicle research and advanced engineering, AV transportation-as-a-service network development, user experience, business strategy and business development teams.

The company claims the subsidiary is “structured to take on third party investment.” Sherif Marakby, current Ford vice president and formerly Uber’s autonomous vehicle program director, will be appointed as CEO of Ford Autonomous Vehicles — reporting to a board of directors chaired by Marcy Klevorn, Ford’s executive vice president and president of Mobility.

Meanwhile, Ford is reorganizing its Global Operations division (led by Executive Vice President Joe Hinrichs) to include Information Technology, as well as the company’s global order-to-delivery system, technologies, and processes from across Ford’s production system.

“The evolution of computing power and IT have helped bring great products to customers — from cars to tablets,” Hackett said. “We can now harness this technology to unlock a new world of vehicle personalization, supply chain choreography and inventory leanness that rivals any industrial model in the world — and Joe’s challenge is to help us redesign this system to do just that — while better serving customers and dealers and improving our overall fitness.”

[Images: Ford]