Car manufacturer Ford has become the latest enterprise aiming to compete in a space dominated by taxi hailing app Uber with the introduction of a mobile app called FordPass.
Seen as a potential Uber-killer, FordPass is available to both customers and non-customers of Ford. It currently provides live chat assistance and navigation, remote starting, locking and unlocking, vehicle health information, and finding and paying for parking. Ford is also testing sharing and borrowing of cars via the app.
“Around the world, we see people wanting to be connected wherever they are, on whatever device they are using, and that’s why we used the Mobile World Congress to introduce the latest version of SYNC. You’re seeing that we’re not only an automobile company anymore, but making a major shift to being an auto and technology company,” said Mark Fields, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company.
“We’re seeing the growth of megacities around the world, so we will have more congestion, particularly in urban areas. We are seeing the growth of the urban middle class, which is expected to double in the next 15 years. This all raises issues around air quality, not only in terms of the environment, but also around basic health.
“Finally, we’re looking at the changing nature of consumer behaviour, particularly around millennials and how they are relating, getting married, buying houses and having kids, for example. They want to be connected 24/7, and they want access rather than ownership.
“We are looking closely at all those trends and how they will affect our business going forward. In both of our core businesses, automotive and mobile, we have to be alert to emerging opportunities in business and society.”
During his keynote address at the Mobile World Congress, Fields suggested that FordPass could “do for the car industry what iTunes did for the music industry”. The app, which has been introduced in the UK and Germany, will be formally launched next month (April).
It includes several distinct services, such as FordGuides, which provides “personal mobility assistants” to assist users to find locations and solve navigational problems; and FordPass Appreciation, which rewards users for registering, booking parking, or interacting with other services and “affinity partners” like BP and 7-Eleven.