Photo: Ford
Ford’s plans in the field of autonomous cars have received a new date in their timeline.
Mark Fields, the CEO of Ford Motor Company, has announced that the automaker plans to sell driverless cars to the public by 2025. The statement was made in a speech held Monday at the company’s headquarters. While the date is nine years away, it is worth noting that it is still a significant milestone when whatever automaker announces plans like these.
It is interesting to note that Fields did not designate the year 2025 as the precise time when Ford will sell self-driving cars to the public.
However, he referred to the moment as “around mid-decade,” which can be easily interpreted as the year mentioned above. There is a possibility that the carmaker will release autonomous vehicles sooner, as well as a chance that they may come later than 2025 to market.
The most recent news from Ford comes after the automaker has confirmed plans to have a fleet of self-driving cars on its Dearborn campus in Michigan by 2018, and the objective of bringing a fully autonomous car for ride-sharing on the market by 2021, Automotive News notes.
The sale of driverless cars from Ford to the public would come almost four years after this typoe of vehicle will be available through ride-sharing.
Even if Ford’s objective is about nine years away, the move is still significant in the global context of the automotive industry. Few automakers have announced precise goals regarding the date of launch of their first entirely autonomous cars. CEOs and officials avoid statements like these, because they can be interpreted in an unfortunate way if the promise does not come true.
The Blue Oval is a major player in the domain, and making an announcement like this is not gratuitous for a corporation of this size. Furthermore, while Tesla might be first to sell fully autonomous vehicles to the general public, Ford might revolutionize the automobile once again and sell those cars at a more affordable price.
It is interesting to note that Fields did not designate the year 2025 as the precise time when Ford will sell self-driving cars to the public.
However, he referred to the moment as “around mid-decade,” which can be easily interpreted as the year mentioned above. There is a possibility that the carmaker will release autonomous vehicles sooner, as well as a chance that they may come later than 2025 to market.
The most recent news from Ford comes after the automaker has confirmed plans to have a fleet of self-driving cars on its Dearborn campus in Michigan by 2018, and the objective of bringing a fully autonomous car for ride-sharing on the market by 2021, Automotive News notes.
The sale of driverless cars from Ford to the public would come almost four years after this typoe of vehicle will be available through ride-sharing.
Even if Ford’s objective is about nine years away, the move is still significant in the global context of the automotive industry. Few automakers have announced precise goals regarding the date of launch of their first entirely autonomous cars. CEOs and officials avoid statements like these, because they can be interpreted in an unfortunate way if the promise does not come true.
The Blue Oval is a major player in the domain, and making an announcement like this is not gratuitous for a corporation of this size. Furthermore, while Tesla might be first to sell fully autonomous vehicles to the general public, Ford might revolutionize the automobile once again and sell those cars at a more affordable price.
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