Ford aims to become mobility solutions firm

In a move that is indicative of the tectonic shifts underway in the automobile industry’s thinking and of the coming fundamental changes to how we live and commute, Ford Motor on Monday announced a partnership with Chinese home appliance giant Haier, solar power player Trina and power management company Delta to work towards integrating households and mobility with renewable energy.

Ford announced the first of its kind initiative, called My Energi Lifestyle, part of its ongoing experiments with ‘ smart mobility’ as it attempts to go beyond being just a car- maker to a ‘ mobility solutions’ provider, at the first edition of the Consumer Electronics Show in Shanghai.

As electric and hybrid vehicles become a bigger part of Ford’s portfolio, “understanding the electrical grid is important for plug- in vehicles”, Ford officials said in explaining why the company was tying up with home appliance companies. “Smart mobility is not just about vehicles, but about integrating them with society and infrastructure. There is an urgent need for mobility solutions that integrate public and private transport in cities across the world. Ford has its multi- decade blueprint for it”.

Ford also announced a new shared car experiment in London, called ‘ go! Drive’ as it explores ‘ flexible User- ship’ models, rather than traditional individual ownership, and social collaboration in mobility.

Londoners can, on the go! Drive app, book a car to drive around when they need one, even for one way trips, akin to current bicycle hire programs in many European cities. Ford already runs a version of the experiment in Bengaluru in partnership with Zoom cars.