Ford Motor said on Wednesday it will collaborate with Lyft[1] to deploy Ford[2] self-driving vehicles on the ride services company's network in large numbers by 2021[3].
Ford and Lyft teams will begin working together to design software to allow Ford vehicles to communicate with Lyft's smartphone apps.
Ford self-driving[4] test vehicles will be connected to Lyft's network, but at first, customers will not be able to use them, Sherif Marakby, Ford's vice president for autonomous vehicles and electrification, told Reuters. Ford will put human-driven vehicles on Lyft's network.
He did not say when Ford and Lyft expect to offer the first rides in self-driving cars.
"We're not building prototypes for the sake of building prototypes," Marakby said, adding Ford intends to ultimately put thousands of self-driving vehicles in use.
Ford's new Chief Executive Jim Hackett is scheduled to meet with investors on Tuesday to outline the Dearborn, Mich. automaker's strategy for boosting profitability. Ford shares are down 1.65 percent so far this year, while Detroit rival General Motors Co's shares have risen 15.6 percent, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV shares are up 71 percent.
Hackett's plans to compete for revenue from mobility services, which include car sharing and ride-hailing, will be one area of focus for investors. The Lyft partnership fills in a piece of the puzzle.
Ford also is testing delivery services[5] using self-driving vehicles and a van shuttle service. The self-driving vehicles Ford will deploy through Lyft will use software developed by Argo AI, a company in which Ford is investing $1 billion over the next five years.
The company has said it will invest $700 million in a factory in Flat Rock, Michigan,...