AACHEN, Germany, Oct. 22, 2012 – Ford today underlined its commitment to advanced technology research projects that will help deliver on its future global vision for transportation.
Ford said the significant projects that it leads, and to which it contributes, are key to delivering improved safety, better fuel-efficiency, and helping ease traffic congestion; ahead of the ITS World Congress 2012, in Vienna.
“Car makers have developed independent mobility solutions for today’s vehicles, but we will need to change this paradigm and work together to resolve the mobility issues of the future”, said Andreas Ostendorf, vice president Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering, Ford of Europe.
Ostendorf will deliver a keynote speech at the leading global forum for intelligent transport systems, and event visitors will be able to experience first-hand some of the innovations that Ford and partners have been working on to deliver car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communications capability, improved traffic integration and intelligent driver assistance systems.
“The automobile is just one element of a transportation ecosystem,” added Ostendorf. “We need to optimise the entire system to deliver a customer experience that is safer and more efficient.”
Experts from the Ford European Research and Advanced Engineering Europe Centre in Aachen, Germany, are leading and contributing to a number of high-profile research projects.
Delivering complex, fully integrated transport systems such as those outlined in Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman Bill Ford’s “Blueprint for Mobility” on a global scale requires a huge amount of development work and coordination between individual manufacturers and organisations.
“Ford’s policy has always been to look far ahead and plan to address the needs of future drivers,” said Paul Mascarenas, Ford’s chief technical officer and vice president, Research and Innovation. “Our company’s vast experience in the automotive environment allows us to play a pivotal role in shaping the transport infrastructure and vehicles of tomorrow.”
In 2011, Ford Motor Company spent $5.3 billion (€4.1 billion) on research and development globally, in areas including car-to-car communication, driver assistance features, materials development and manufacturing.
“Ford has been highly successful in democratising active safety and driver assistance systems,” said Ostendorf. “The connected vehicle will enable the next generation of these systems.”
Ford vehicles already offer advanced safety and convenience features including Ford Active Park Assist, which controls vehicle steering for hands-free parking, Lane Keeping Aid, which provides steering input to assist the driver to steer the vehicle back into lane if an unintentional drift is detected, and Active City Stop, which applies the brakes in emergencies to avoid or mitigate the effects of accidents in slow moving traffic.
# # #
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 168,000 employees and about 65 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit http://corporate.ford.com.
Ford of Europeis responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 51 individual markets and employs approximately 66,000 employees. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford of Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 22 manufacturing facilities, including joint ventures. The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.