Ford’s latest City of Tomorrow Symposium event in Delhi discussed the future of automobiles and the transportation in general. This also included TED sessions that talked about urban management among many other things. Ford is gearing up to expand its smart mobility programs in Asia and has already partnered with cities like Indore. The symposium also deliberated about the future of automobiles and how the transportation solutions would change for good in the near future.
Indian Government has also put forth a rather ambitious plan for making India free of Petrol and Diesel vehicles by 2030. This initiative calls for the automobile manufacturers to synergize and arrive at the best solution.
This is what Rajendra Rao, CEO, Ford Smart says:
The transportation models that exist around the world today simply will not work tomorrow. Ford has an aspiration – that urban transport systems will be free from congestion, rich in choices, and provide mobility for all… Breakthrough solutions are needed to achieve this. Getting there will require a leap in our collective thinking, working with cities and partners who are agents of change.
Ford has signed up a MoU with the Indian city of Indore and is planning the Indore public transport body based on better technology implementation and based on strong data analytics. The company also showcased how the future will belong to autonomous vehicles like the Dynamic Shuttle and other programs like car sharing and carpooling. Let’s take a look at what Ford has already implemented and the part it plays in the future of mobility.
Ford has started experimenting with on-demand shuttle and has built the shuttle service in Shanghai, China. The Dynamic Shuttle relies on optimisation algorithms in order to achieve better efficiency. Ford is expected to start a similar Dynamic Shuttle pilots for their employees and Nanjing and Chennai facility.
Zoomcar is one of the first self-driven car rental companies that was born out of India. Ford has invested in Zoomcar as the company sees value in car sharing and it figures out in the company’s plan in the future of mobility. Ford is also helping Vietnam build their smart camera system by providing 50 traffic cameras. Other initiatives include a new Smart Mobility Innovation hub in Chennai. This hub will be an open space that will help Ford’s Global-Data-Insight-Analytics to create innovative solutions that would help to solve the mobility issues.