2023 Ford Super Duty F-550 Chassis Cab
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Detroit — ford motor is launching a new artificial intelligence system for its professional commercial vehicle business, aiming to boost the division’s profits and software revenue.
The Detroit automaker announced Tuesday that its new Ford Pro AI can monitor and analyze more than 1 billion data points from connected commercial vehicles every day, from seat belt use to vehicle health, route optimization and fuel consumption.
The goal is to give its 840,000 paid commercial subscribers the tools to improve efficiency and profits and reduce vehicle downtime by making it easier to analyze their businesses and operations, Ford said. The automaker reported a 30% increase in Pro subscribers last year.
“Helping people maximize vehicle uptime, increase productivity and reduce costs is not just good business, it’s essential to all of us,” Kevin Dunbar, general manager of Ford Pro Intelligence, said in a media briefing. “Our team is helping build the future of fleet operations.”
Ford Pro’s fleet operations include Super Duty heavy-duty truck operations as well as sales to commercial, government and rental customers.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said last month that diversifying Pro’s revenue, particularly in software, is a key growth area for the company. He said Ford’s software and physical services, such as mobile services and maintenance, are “rapidly approaching” Pro’s revenue target of 20%.
The new AI product will be included in Ford’s telematics subscribers, which has helped the company grow and diversify its revenue. Last year, Ford Pro reported sales of $66 billion, profits of $6.8 billion and profit margins of 10.3%.
The system will start as a read-only format with prompts, but Ford will continue to look to expand its functionality to meet customer needs, Dunbar said. Pro AI is built from google According to Ford, the cloud uses the automaker’s proprietary data.
