Tag: ford

In California, Argo AI may now provide public rides in its self-driving vehicles.

Argo AI, the Ford and VW-backed autonomous vehicle technology firm, has received a permit in California that will allow it to provide free rides in its self-driving vehicles on public highways.

According to the accepted application, the California Public Utilities Commission gave the so-called Drivered AV pilot permit earlier this month. It was published on its website on Friday, a little over a week after Argo and Ford revealed plans to debut at least 1,000 self-driving cars on Lyft’s ride-hailing network in a variety of locations over the next five years, beginning with Miami and Austin.

The authorization, which is part of the state’s Autonomous Vehicle Passenger Service pilot, adds Argo to a small but increasing group of businesses looking to go beyond standard AV testing — a hint that the industry, or at least some companies, are getting ready to go commercial. Since 2019, Argo has been testing its self-driving technology in Ford cars in Palo Alto. In California, the company’s test fleet consists of around a dozen self-driving test vehicles. In addition to Miami, Austin, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, and Detroit, it has autonomous test cars.

Aurora, AutoX, Cruise, Deeproute, Pony.ai, Voyage, Zoox, and Waymo have all been granted licences to participate in the CPUC’s Drivered Autonomous Vehicle Passenger Service Pilot program, which necessitates the presence of a human safety operator behind the wheel. This permission does not allow companies to charge for rides.

Cruise is the only business that has obtained driverless authorization from the CPUC, allowing it to transport people in its test cars without the presence of a human safety operator.

Obtaining a Drivered authorization from the CPUC is only the first step on the road to commercialization in California. Before charging for rides in robotaxis without a human safety operator behind the wheel, the state needs firms to clear several regulatory barriers from the CPUC and the California Department of Motor Vehicles, each with its tiered system of licences.

The DMV is in charge of regulating and issuing licenses for autonomous vehicle testing on public roads. The DMW issues three types of permits, the first of which allows businesses to test autonomous vehicles on public roads with a safety driver. This basic testing authorization is held by more than 60 businesses.

The next permission allows for driverless testing, followed by a commercial deployment permit. Permits for driverless testing, in which no person is behind the wheel, have become the new benchmark and a need for firms looking to start a commercial robotaxi or delivery service in the state. The DMV has issued autonomous permits to AutoX, Baidu, Cruise, Nuro, Pony.ai, Waymo, WeRide, and Zoox.

Nuro is the only person who has gotten deployment permission from the DMV. Nuro may now deploy on a commercial basis thanks to this permission. Nuro’s trucks can only carry freight and not passengers, allowing the firm to avoid the CPUC approval procedure.

Meanwhile, in May 2018, the CPUC approved two pilot projects for autonomous vehicle passenger transportation. The Drivered Autonomous Vehicle Passenger Service Pilot program, which Argo just obtained, permits firms to run a ride-hailing service utilizing autonomous vehicles as long as they adhere to certain guidelines. Companies are not permitted to charge for rides, and a human safety driver must be present at all times. Additionally, specific data must be provided quarterly.

The second CPUC pilot will allow Cruise to launch an autonomous passenger service in June 2021.

It’s worth noting that getting to the holy grail of commercial robotaxis necessitates obtaining all of these permissions from the DMV and CPUC.

FORD – The Brand Story

Ford Motor Company, commonly known as Ford, is an American multinational automaker that has its main headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and most luxury cars under the Lincoln brand. Ford also owns Brazilian SUV manufacturer Troller, an 8% stake in Aston Martin of the United Kingdom and a 32% stake in Jiangling Motors. It also has joint-ventures in China (Changan Ford), Taiwan (Ford Lio Ho), Thailand (AutoAlliance Thailand), Turkey (Ford Otosan), and Russia (Ford Sollers). The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford Family; they have minority ownership but the majority of the voting power.

Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines; by 1914, these methods were known around the world as Fordism. Ford’s former UK subsidiaries Jaguar andLand Rover, acquired in 1989 and 2000 respectively, were sold to the Indian automaker Tata Motors in March 2008. Ford owned the Swedish automaker Volvo from 1999 to 2010. In 2011, Ford discontinued the Mercury brand, under which it had marketed entry-level luxury cars in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East since 1938.

Ford is the second-largest U.S.-based automaker (behind General Motors) and the fifth-largest in the world (behind Toyota, VW, Hyundai-Kia and General Motors) based on 2015 vehicle production. At the end of 2010, Ford was the fifth largest automaker in Europe. The company went public in 1956 but the Ford family, through special Class B shares, still retain 40 percent voting rights. During the financial crisis at the beginning of the 21st century, it struggled financially, but it has since returned to profitability. Ford was the eleventh-ranked overall American-based company in the 2018 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2017 of $156.7 billion. In 2008, Ford produced 5.532 million automobiles and employed about 213,000 employees at around 90 plants and facilities worldwide.

Ford is a popular name when it comes to automaker companies. The brand has it branches spread all over the world and is a leader among automobile manufacturers. Ford Motor Company better known as simple Ford produces the best cars and trucks under its name. Ford has been pleasing customers of all strata with its wide range of cars and commercial vehicles. The brand has everything from luxurious cars under the Lincoln brand to economy and commercial vehicles under Ford brand. The constant innovation of designs and technology keeping in mind the currents demands and desires of its customers has enabled it to build a strong rapport among target market.  

Key Strategy of Ford :  

Ford Motor Company has carefully examined the needs of customers and derived its marketing strategies accordingly.   

• Ford Mission statement and goal has always been one Ford, one team, one plan and one goal. The statement clearly signifies that the brand believes in establishing itself as a brand that has a team dedicated to single goal of delivering high performance vehicles to its customers.   

• Ford has also been a brand that is very well established strong relationship with the communities it serves. The brand has been involved in campaigns like ‘breast cancer awareness campaigns’.   

• The brand also endeavors to be as protective of nature as possible with its efforts of making fuel efficient cars, electric vehicles, donations and Ford raiser programs for environmental protection.  

• Due to its worldwide presence the company has strong brand recall and reputation. It also gives them edge over other competitors because they can very well determine the needs of different market segment and manufacture efficient vehicles accordingly.  

• The biggest strength of the brand is its unmatched technology and designs that has helped the company to develop a strong portfolio of quality products.    

• Ford’s marketing and advertising tactics involves everything from promotions on social media platforms like twitter, blogs, flickr, press releases, television commercials etc.   

• Ford has a very strong rapport with its employees, suppliers, dealers etc that helps him to stay focused on its mission statement of ‘One Ford’.  

• Ford’s most popular vehicles include Land Rover, Lincoln, Aston Martin, Volvo etc.  

• Ford has cars for every customer. It has luxurious cars as well as mid-size cars to cater needs of every customer. Some of the popular mid-range cars include Ford Figo, Ford Fusion etc.  

Ford has been an age old company that has gathered the trust and loyalty of customers all over the world. The multinational automaker has proved to be innovative and efficient when it comes to vehicle needs of its customers.    The company has been sensitive to its community and has been involved in events that are held in favor of the community. The company tries to view their business from consumer’s prospective to come up with products and services that are full worth in terms of money, comfort and luxury.