Ford Motor to spend $4 Billion on autonomous vehicles by 2023

New Delhi : Ford Motor Company, an American multinational automaker is all set to make best of investments for its newly created Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC. The former will invest $4 billion through 2023, including its $1 billion investment in Argo AI so as to accelerate its autonomous vehicle business to capitalize on the market prospects. The company is setting up its self-driving business into Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC, which will include Ford's self-driving systems integration, autonomous vehicle research and advanced engineering, AV transportation-as-a-service network development, user experience, business strategy and business development teams.

Ford’s current VP Sherif Marakby is appointed CEO of Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC and will report to the board of directors chaired by Marcy Klevorn, Ford's executive vice president and president, Mobility. The new LLC will be primarily located at Ford's Corktown campus in Detroit and will embrace Ford's ownership stake in Argo AI, the company's Pittsburgh-based partner for self-driving system development.

"Ford has made tremendous progress across the self-driving value chain - from technology development to business model innovation to user experience," said Jim Hackett, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company. "Now is the right time to consolidate our autonomous driving platform into one team to best position the business for the opportunities ahead."

With the new company, Ford expects to line up the self-driving platform and the mobility solutions teams to boast faster development of businesses that can flourish in the pre- and post-autonomous vehicle worlds. 

Ford's electric vehicle strategy includes rethinking the ownership experience, including making charging an easy experience at home and on the road, as well as offering full-vehicle over-the-air software updates to improve capability and features.