At the 2015 consumer electronics show (CES) American automotive giant ‘Ford’ has announced smart mobility plan and set of 25 global experiments which includes India bound share car project. Ford smart mobility campaign will be across the globe, 8 of them will be conducted in North America, 9 in Europe, 7 in Asia and 1 in South America. Main aim behind this campaign is to take mobility, autonomous vehicles, customer expectations and connectivity to next level.
Among these 25 experiments one is car-share project which will be carried over in India, under his project which will be first tested in Bangalore. This program will allow co-workers, families etc to share a vehicle among multiple drivers; company’s main intent is to help out those who want to have their own car but can’t afford one. Company is working on a strategy to mange vehicle ownership and scheduling.
Reportedly, Ford India might be working with Zoom car, the self driven car rental company to provide this service in India. It is quite early to comment on the success of this campaign in India because it’s hard to tell how it works on Indian customers as it is a hit concept in other markets. But this concept is a commendable initiative by the American giant and we hope other car makers to come with such innovative ideas.
If this concept proves to be success in India it will not only reduces the number of vehicles in India but will reduce the amount of congestion on roads as a result of it. For these 25 experiments projects Ford invited developers and modernizers form various parts of the world including India, Portugal, America, China etc.
These 25 experiments will deal with four global megatrends and today’s transportation model and limited personal mobility particularly in urban areas.
- Explosive Population growth
- Expanding middle class
- Air quality and Public health issues
- Analyzing customer’s changing attitude and preferences
Ford President and CEO Mark Fields said, “We are driving innovation in every part of our business to be both a product and mobility company – and, ultimately, to change the way the world moves just as our founder Henry Ford did 111 years ago,”.
“We see a world where vehicles talk to one another, drivers and vehicles communicate with the city infrastructure to relieve congestion, and people routinely share vehicles or multiple forms of transportation for their daily commute,” he added.
