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No Future For Cars? Ford Thinks They Won’t Be In The Future

Who would’ve thought the CEO of a car company would actually say cars won’t be in the future? Mark Fields, Ford CEO, stands behind the idea. For Ford, one of the top automobile companies in the world, to voice that in the next 15 to 20 years cars will be gone is huge. The idea of no cars seems very futuristic to me — think The Jetsons, but without zooming around your city in the sky (although Uber is currently developing flying cars so that could just be possible).

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But exactly what will Ford be focusing on if cars aren’t in the future?

Great question. For the next 20 or so years the company will remain focused on all other forms of transportation. A variety of modes from bike sharing, ride sharing, and autonomous cars to even mobility on foot. Ford’s reasoning? For one, the traditional way of thinking is: how can we maximize the area to get as many cars as possible on the roads? Fields is about to turn that question on its head. Instead of asking how many cars, he’s now asking us: how can we maximize transportation to fit as many people getting through the area? Now this gives mobility a new perspective — one that most likely will not include cars.

“Municipalities have a unique opportunity to take advantage of all the transportation advancements of the last decade,” said Kelsey Owens, Sales Associate at Passport. “Cities can start to take advantage of things like apps, bike sharing, and eventually autonomous cars to help lessen congestion and get people to where they need to be in a more efficient manner than in the past. It’s an exciting time to partner with forward thinking municipalities.”

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What’s next for Ford?

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Besides autonomous commercials cars, which are set to launch by 2021, the company’s next initiative is ride-sharing and bike-sharing. For urban areas, this makes total sense, especially since on-demand mobility is gaining major headway. One apartment complex in Manhattan even offers a fleet of BMWs as an amenity for residents. This past March, Ford created the Ford Smart Mobility, which creates, grows, and invests in transportation services. FSM’s first major purchase was buying Chariot, a San Francisco-based shuttle service. You see, on-demand mobility is continuing to play an integral part in the future of transportation.

“We’re trying to think about this holistically for cities,” said Fields, “not just how do I carve out a little piece of business for ourselves?”

With no clear answer for the future of cars, it’s becoming more apparent that mobility isn’t just defined by a vehicle. With other forms of transportation taking precedence in the coming years, it is quite obvious we must start thinking outside the box…err…the wheels.