Ford to invest $4bn in AV business segment by 2023

Auto giant 278 Ford intends to invest $4bn by 2023 to develop an autonomous vehicle (AV) business unit. The new subsidiary will be located mainly at its Corktown campus in Detroit.

Called Ford Autonomous Vehicles, the business will host the company’s self-driving systems integration, AV research and advanced engineering, AV transportation-as-a-service network development, user experience, business strategy and business development teams.

A report by <%$Linker:2External<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary />000link-external TechCrunchTechCrunch linkfalsehttps://guce.oath.com/collectConsent?brandType=nonEu&amp;.done=https%3A%2F%2Ftechcrunch.com%2F2018%2F07%2F24%2Fford-plans-to-spend-4-billion-on-autonomous-vehicles-by-2023%2F%3Fguccounter%3D1&amp;sessionId=3_cc-session_51314c9f-1970-47f7-a547-41a553c7763c&amp;lang=&amp;inline=falsefalsefalse%> says the initiative includes a $1bn investment in Argo AI, Ford’s Pittsburgh-based partner for self-driving system development.

Jim Hackett, CEO of Ford, says: “Now is the right time to consolidate our autonomous driving platform into one team to best position the business for the opportunities ahead.”

Sherif Marakby, who leads the company’s AV and electrification division, has been appointed CEO of Ford Autonomous Vehicles.