The significance of today’s announcement regarding the coming “FordPass” mobility platform can hardly be overstated. With one significant new product suite, Ford is getting a jump on realizing its goal of becoming an auto and mobility company, by providing several of the key components mentioned at last month’s Smart Mobility background event.
Surprisingly, the forthcoming FordPass mobility platform came about somewhat by accident.
Ms. Elena Ford is Ford Motor Company’s Vice President of Global Dealer and Consumer Experience. Last April, she was engaged in a several hour-long session interacting with customers, with a goal of evaluating and improving Ford’s dealer experience, when the mission suddenly transformed into something entirely larger: how to deliver easier commuting for customers everywhere. The session stretched on for no less than 72 hours, and at the end, Elena Ford and colleagues had the basic outline for what would become FordPass – although then, it was referred to simply as “The Big Idea.”
“It was really competitive, with people moving between rooms trying to determine what owners, ride-sharers and general commuters would want out of a world-class customer experience,” said Ms. Ford. To draft the initial plan for FordPass, Ford and colleagues considered an ideal “day in the life of” a FordPass service user. The team eventually decided that a consumer ought to be able to perform each of the following:
From these core ideas, FordPass was developed over the course of about 18 months – “a record amount of time,” says Elena Ford. The FordPass mobile app is scheduled to launch this April, with initial FordHub locations set to open in four major cities around the globe.
A key cost savings measure for the automaker.
A nifty way to keep things cool on the go.
It actually traveled further on a charge than it did when new.
That has been the case for a while now, too.
Leaning heavily on a 1970s cop show aesthetic.
The two products will be different in many ways.
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