Ford Says Businesses Don’t Know How To Utilize Vehicle Data

When The Blue Oval created its commercial-focused Ford Pro entity a few years ago, one of its biggest focuses was said to be on software. Aside from the fact that such things are quite profitable for the automaker, they’re also very beneficial for fleets, as it enables them to keep close tabs on vehicles and optimize efficiency while also reducing costly downtime. Thus, it’s no surprise that Ford Pro software subscriptions continue to rise with each passing quarter, even though the automaker is now saying that many of those customers don’t know how to best utilize the data it’s providing them with.

This news comes to us from a new report commissioned by Ford Pro – dubbed “Closing the Commercial Vehicle Data Gap” – which was designed to help the automaker better understand customer behavior and attitudes when it comes to vehicle data. It surveyed 3,000 drivers and 150 fleet managers across Europe and the U.S., and ultimately found three rather substantial gaps.

The first pertains to value, as just 46 percent of drivers and 25 percent of fleet managers don’t use vehicle health data on a daily basis, such as scheduling urgent service, even though this is a main priority in daily operations. Additionally, 32 percent of drivers and 57 percent of fleet managers don’t know much about how that data can save them time and money – a figure that falls to 10 percent for small businesses. Finally, data privacy is a concern among 94 percent of drivers and 97 percent of managers, highlighting a big area for improvement.

“Connected vehicle data is the lifeblood of commercial vehicle efficiency. Like a fitness tracker for your fleet, it helps optimize vehicle and driver performance by providing both real-time updates and cumulative data for deeper analysis and richer insight,” said Hans Schep, general manager, Ford Pro, Europe. “This new research has shown that there is a gap which separates the savviest in our business, who have seized the opportunity presented by connected data to save time and money, from those still relying exclusively on traditional management tools and not unlocking its potential. As an industry, we need to close this gap – and fast.”