Photo: Ford
Last year, American manufacturer Ford decided to join the electrification race by setting up a task force whose whole focus would be the development of the required technologies.
Internally, the task force became known as Team Edison and until recently it conducted its business in Ford’s existing locations. Starting this month, Ford will move this entire department just west of Downtown Detroit, in Corktown.
This move marks the return of the Blue Oval to America’s Motor City. Ford is headquartered 7 miles away from downtown Detroit, in Dearborn, but decided to move this team to Corktown to give it the space it needs to create the future technologies and automobiles.
The location chosen by Ford is a 110-year old, 45,000-square-foot building that over the years has housed several companies.
“Moving our teams to Corktown will further enhance our electric and autonomous vehicle development,” said Sherif Marakby, Ford vice president in charge with vehicle electrification.
“It gives our teams the workspace they need to promote collaboration and big thinking, and an urban setting that delivers crucial insight for both programs.”
Ford is currently in the process of seriously revamping its car lineup in the U.S. The carmaker already announced plans to reduce the number of passenger cars sold locally to only 10 percent of the entire portfolio.
Of the remaining trucks, utilities, and commercial vehicles, Ford will offer electrified variants for most of them. The Mustang, F-150, Explorer, Escape and Bronco will get hybrid powertrains, and by 2022 the company plans to launch no less than 16 full battery-electric vehicles by 2022.
The Corktown location will also house the team working on Ford’s interpretation of autonomous vehicles.
Eventually, the conjugated efforts of the two groups would lead to the launch of a purpose-built, custom-designed self-driving vehicle that runs on a hybrid-electric powertrain. The date targeted for this release is 2021.
This move marks the return of the Blue Oval to America’s Motor City. Ford is headquartered 7 miles away from downtown Detroit, in Dearborn, but decided to move this team to Corktown to give it the space it needs to create the future technologies and automobiles.
The location chosen by Ford is a 110-year old, 45,000-square-foot building that over the years has housed several companies.
“Moving our teams to Corktown will further enhance our electric and autonomous vehicle development,” said Sherif Marakby, Ford vice president in charge with vehicle electrification.
“It gives our teams the workspace they need to promote collaboration and big thinking, and an urban setting that delivers crucial insight for both programs.”
Ford is currently in the process of seriously revamping its car lineup in the U.S. The carmaker already announced plans to reduce the number of passenger cars sold locally to only 10 percent of the entire portfolio.
Of the remaining trucks, utilities, and commercial vehicles, Ford will offer electrified variants for most of them. The Mustang, F-150, Explorer, Escape and Bronco will get hybrid powertrains, and by 2022 the company plans to launch no less than 16 full battery-electric vehicles by 2022.
The Corktown location will also house the team working on Ford’s interpretation of autonomous vehicles.
Eventually, the conjugated efforts of the two groups would lead to the launch of a purpose-built, custom-designed self-driving vehicle that runs on a hybrid-electric powertrain. The date targeted for this release is 2021.
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