Ford CEO announces plans for driverless cars

President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company, Mark Fields, has announced that the company are currently working to develop driverless cars.

Fields stated that driverless cars would have “as significant an impact on society as Ford’s moving assembly line did 100 years ago.” The announcement was made in the Silicon Valley area of California.

Obstacles

With the goal of incorporating the vehicles into mass transit, Fields promised delivery of commercial driverless cars by 2021. Daimler and BMW are also in the process of creating driverless cars, but due to its volume of sales, Ford’s entry into the driverless car market will likely have a large impact on the future of vehicle design and sales.

Fields envisages a fleet of driverless cars that will be available for hire, and that will ultimately replace taxis. However, there are a number of obstacles Ford will need to address, including design, construction and safety, in order to make this vision a reality.

Affordability

With development of driverless cars on the increase, car companies and insurance companies must come together to determine who will carry the risk.

Affordability is another factor which needs to be considered. While new technology always comes with a large price tag, Ford – and any other company looking to release driverless cars – must think about how they will make affordable vehicles on a mass production basis.