(Bloomberg) — Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley has reformed the company's internal operations to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles and foster new technology businesses.
Farley formed the Ford Next unit at the end of last year and left it under the direction of Franck Louis Victor, a specialist in new business hired last June from Renault SA. The unit contains Ford's participation in the autonomous car startup Argo AI and will develop startups in mobility services and other businesses. A joint project that the automotive manufacturer materialized in January with safety specialist ADT Inc. came out of Ford Next.
The operation is another measure by Farley to separate the manufacturer into more agile and skillful parts that can cope with startups and technology giants such as Alphabet Inc. and its autonomous driving unit, Waymo. Farley announced this month that it would divide automobile manufacturing at the company into two operations: Model e for electric models and Ford Blue for traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines. He also created Ford Pro, which focuses on the highly profitable commercial van and truck business.
The manufacturer's autonomous driving unit, Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC, is now part of Ford Next. Former AV CEO Scott Griffith serves as a business expert for Ford Next.
Like the new units created this month, Ford Next will begin publishing its financial results in the company's reports next year, he said.
Farley's goal is to create a company that looks and acts more like a startup and that can attract elusive tech talent.
Farley has said that traditional internal combustion engine personnel don't have all the skills needed for the next era of transportation, and are looking for new blood to give Ford a better chance of surviving in its second century of existence.
The company had considered a division in which its electric and traditional businesses would have been listed separately, but ultimately decided to keep them under one share.
Rival General Motors Co. has been analyzing whether to make its autonomous vehicle company Cruise LLC public. Executive Director Mary Barra has chosen to keep it internally for the time being, which contributed to the departure of Cruise CEO Dan Ammann in December.
Original Note:
Ford Creates Unit to Develop Autonomous Vehicles, New Technology
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