• Two young Ford engineers earn Ford X funding to pilot FindYourFord.com, a platform designed to make it easier for Detroit-area customers to shop for used Ford vehicles
• Find Your Ford shoppers can search inventories at six Metro Detroit dealerships for specific features that are hard to pinpoint on other used car websites
• With funding from Ford X, Find Your Ford was developed to provide the ease of modern retailing while also helping customers build relationships with dealerships

DEARBORN, Mich., March 27, 2019 – When 25-year-old structures engineer Arnold Kadiu first began working at Ford last year, he knew exactly what kind of used car he wanted to buy to mark the occasion: A long-bed, crew-cab F-150 with two-wheel drive and adaptive cruise control.

The dilemma for him was whether he would ever find it.

He learned quickly that searching for used cars online can be tricky, especially when looking for specific features. To help improve the shopping experience, Kadiu and his colleague, 24-year-old autonomous vehicle engineer Leda Daehler, worked with Ford’s incubator Ford X to create Find Your Ford, a website for customers looking for their perfect used Ford vehicle.

Find Your Ford lets shoppers search for used vehicles from multiple dealerships in one place, reducing the need to scroll through individual dealer inventories separately. It also lets customers filter results based on features they are most interested in, including those that are usually hard to pinpoint on other online sales sites, such as heated steering wheels and specific driver-assist technologies.

“Most people have experienced the frustration of settling for something less than desired,” said Sundeep Madra, vice president, Ford X. “Arnold and Leda, working with Ford’s dealers and sales teams, have designed Find Your Ford to provide an easy, comprehensive way to sift through what’s out there to find the perfect vehicle.”

Once a potential customer finds a vehicle they’re interested in, they can schedule a time to go see the car at the dealership. As trusted members of the Ford network, dealers will take the time to show the vehicle, arrange a test drive and help complete the purchase.

“The Find Your Ford platform helps customers build relationships with dealerships, so they have a trusted partner in their corner, whether they have questions about the vehicle’s technologies or need an oil change,” said Madra. “Other sites sell them and leave them. We know the importance of customer support after the purchase and for the life of the vehicle.”

While Daehler and Kadiu joined Ford to work on next-generation autonomous and electric vehicles, their plans for Find Your Ford quickly took off when Daehler relayed a similar shopping experience, searching for a Lincoln MKZ with a tan interior and adaptive cruise control – and driving eight hours away to pick it up. Their project quickly found a home at Ford X, a division of Ford Smart Mobility that is responsible for incubating, testing and validating new ideas and business models via a series of in-market experiments.

“Leda and I both discussed our frustrations shopping for used vehicles and were able to turn those experiences into a new service thanks to Ford X,” Kadiu said. “We were fortunate to join Ford at a time when the company is open to new ideas that can lead to real results.”

Through Ford X, Daehler and Kadiu found the funding and support needed to design the Find Your Ford website, engage dealers and put a pilot site together.

The two engineers also worked closely with Ford’s Customer Experience team, which helps identify and fix customer pain points that have the highest potential to drive improved business results, from digital platforms to customer contact centers to improved retail and distribution models.

“Find Your Ford complements perfectly the Customer Experience team’s broader work to help customers buy and service vehicles easier,” Daehler said. “This is just one of many ways that Ford is investing to increase loyalty with our customers.”

Currently, Ford is piloting the Find Your Ford platform in Metro Detroit with the participation of six dealerships, as well as exploring expansion to more dealerships and other markets.