How to avoid parking fines and make money from your car while you holiday

Berlin, Germany - Imagine you could avoid parking fines, make money from your car while it’s parked at an airport, or fuel your car without visiting a filling station. These are among the concepts behind eight smart apps designed to help change the way the world moves and improve mobility that have emerged as the winners from a 24hour coding challenge hosted by Ford’s Connected Vehicle and Services team.

Further apps, including an in-car call management service, a ridesharing service connecting drivers and hitch-hikers, and an efficient way to maximise load-carrying in trucks, are all designed to make life easier for drivers, build communities, make businesses more efficient and help make healthier cities.

The apps were developed against the clock for the first Ford SYNC AppLink Mobility Challenge, held in Berlin during IFA – the world’s leading consumer electronics trade show. Ford hosted the challenge at Factory Berlin – Germany’s largest campus for start-ups and innovators – where the company also hosted a roundtable panel discussion with leading innovators and industry experts including Don Butler, executive director, Connected Vehicle and Services.

“The creative ideas developed at the Ford SYNC AppLink Mobility Challenge in Berlin could enable people to go places, earn extra money, and get more out of their time behind the wheel with greater ease than ever before,” Butler said. “With innovative solutions for parking, car-sharing and other mobility services, the incredible range of new app ideas presented made it very hard to choose the winners.”

Attracting 35 teams and 75 developers from 10 countries, the eight Ford SYNC AppLink Mobility Challenge winners will receive significant support – including a cash prize of 20,000 to one winner, five slots in the Techstars programme Startup Next, Ford AppLink Mobility Edition, and two wildcard slots into Berlin’s premier accelerator programme Axel Springer Plug & Play.

Ford is currently expanding into both an auto and a mobility company; as such the company is aggressively pursuing emerging opportunities through Ford Smart Mobility – its plan to be a leader in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics.