Illustration courtesy of Ford Motor Co.

Illustration courtesy of Ford Motor Co.

Ford Motor Co. will be partnering with Lyft to deploy its self-driving vehicles on the ride-hailing company’s platform.

Lyft brings a network of customers and a growing demand for rides while Ford has experience with autonomous vehicle technology and large scale manufacturing, according to a blog by Sherif Marakby, Ford’s vice president of autonomous vehicles and electrification.

“Both companies have fleet management and big data experience,” wrote Marakby. “With our combined capabilities, we believe we can effectively share information to help make the best decisions for the future.”

Initially, Ford will put human-driven vehicles on Lyft’s network, which will allow for testing Ford’s platform with Lyft’s customer-facing platform, according to the blog.  

Ford will connect its self-driving vehicles to Lyft’s network, but customers won’t be able to use them at first. Ford plans to test the self-driving technology before putting customers in autonomous vehicles, according to the blog.

“When ready, we’ll have self-driving cars operating alongside Lyft’s currently community of drivers to help accommodate times of significant consumer demand to ensure that transportation remains timely and affordable,” wrote Marakby.

Click here to read Ford’s full blog report.

Originally posted on Automotive Fleet

0 Comments