Ford CEO: No Worries About Pitfalls of Becoming More of a 'Mobility Company'

Ford plans to continue “to invest for profitable growth this year and beyond not only in the traditional business, the core business, but also as we transform Ford into an auto and a mobility company,” said Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks on a Thursday earnings call. As part of its effort aimed at “aggressively pursuing emerging opportunities” in the mobility area, Ford’s plan is “to have the largest autonomous vehicle test fleet in the industry,” CEO Mark Fields said. Fields doesn’t worry that moving to become more of a mobility company will distract the consumer from the Ford brand, he said in Q&A. “It’s really important that we don’t lose sight of our core business." Partnerships will become increasingly important to the company as Ford transitions to more of a mobility force, he said. Ford’s partnership with Amazon “came out of an idea from one of our folks in our Palo Alto facility,” he said. At CES, Fields showcased a partnership to integrate Ford’s Sync Connect and Amazon Echo to provide voice control access between the car and home.