Commentary
Ford Postpones Self-Driving Vehicle Service Until 2022
- by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, April 29, 2020
The global pandemic is taking its toll on the development of self-driving vehicles.
Ford is now pushing the launch of its self-driving services to 2022, the company said Tuesday in its quarterly earnings report.
“Given the challenges of the current business environment, as well as the need to evaluate the long-term impact of COVID-19 on customer behaviors, Ford made the decision to shift the launch of its self-driving services to 2022,” Ford said in a statement.
This follows a massive investment in the development of autonomous vehicles.
Ford invested $1 billion into Argi.ai to build self-driving car technology.
Last year, Volkswagen AG agreed to invest $2.6 billion in Ford’s autonomous-vehicle partner, Argo.ai, valuing the startup at $7 billion.
Ford yesterday reported a net loss of $2 billion in the first quarter
The company’s earnings report said the quarterly loss in mobility was expected, “as Ford continues to invest in growth from related services, as well as in autonomous vehicles and the underlying business model.”
The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the autonomous vehicle marketplace all around.
For example, self-driving vehicle tests around the country have been temporarily suspended.
General Motors recently shut its Maven car-sharing service and Starsky Robotics shut down after raising more than $20 million to develop driverless trucks.
The road ahead is getting tougher.
Chuck Martin is Editor of the AI & IoT Daily at MediaPost and writes the daily Connected Thinking column. He is a NY Times Business bestselling author and his latest book is “Digital Transformation 3.0” (The New Business-to-Consumer Connections of The Internet of Things.) He is CEO of Net Future Institute and a frequent keynote speaker internationally. Follow him on Twitter @chuckmartin and contact him at Chuck@MediaPost.com.
The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the autonomous vehicle marketplace all around.
For example, self-driving vehicle tests around the country have been temporarily suspended.
General Motors recently shut its Maven car-sharing service and Starsky Robotics shut down after raising more than $20 million to develop driverless trucks.
Funny, the idea that COVID-19 might have much to do with shutting down one of the dumbest-ass ideas in marketing history.
For many years, people have been killing themselves in autonomous cars. Insurance industry hates the idea, consumers hate the idea. Who the hell likes this idea?
Even Boeing is mixed, especially since they turned their 737 (the safest, most reliable workhorse in global commercial aviation) into the 737 MAX with special software (that causes the pland to fall out of the sky, killing hundreds at a time).
AGREED Ken.
Somewhere in the Ford Elite management office suites, with multi-level 6-figure salaries,
someone decalred this is not a good idea for now , and getting paid to say that, and all the time it's obvious to us "Common folk" that this is "THE DUMBEST IDEA OF THE 21ST CENTURY". Covid 19 gave them the "permission" needed to save face for Auto-tonomous livery hacks, (with back-up driver for safety) , because nobody wants this stuff.
Right, Ken and Mark, just like Y2K allowed companies to make all sorts of other decisions.