The car manufacturer is planning a big push into electric vehicles.
Apple Maps will be the official navigation system for upcoming Ford electric vehicles. The software will be directly integrated into the car manufacturer’s Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform, which will power future EVs. This is possible thanks to Apple’s new MapKit for Automotive SDK, which simplifies the integration process.
Apple says this partnership will “deliver a beautiful and easy-to-use navigation experience” that will be pumped “directly to the vehicle’s displays.” That certainly sounds handy. The platform will offer drivers directions via natural language, real-time traffic reports, accident information and various routing options.
Ford will also be using road-level data provided by Apple Maps to further develop its BlueCruise hands-free driving system. The company says this will eventually lead to a “more seamless on-ramp-to-off ramp experience.” In other words, this is the first collaboration that Apple has been involved with that supports self-driving. We’ll probably never get the Apple Car, but at least we’ll have Ford’s UEV platform.
As for Ford, it’ll be busy. The UEV platform is set to power a bunch of affordable EVs, starting with a midsize pickup truck that should be priced at around $30,000. That one’s due in 2027. The company has been cagey about what comes after that, but it did create a promotional film that showed a range of vehicles from SUVs to sedans.
All told, Ford promises that its line of upcoming EVs will be cheaper “than a three-year-old used Tesla Model Y.” We are in dire need of budget-friendly electric vehicles, so much so that a $25,000 EV pickup with no paint, stereo or power windows pretty much broke the internet.
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