Selling cars and trucks won't be enough to keep Ford Motor Co. rolling for a second century, so the company is operating on parallel paths to prepare for self-driving cars and shared vehicles, according to Executive Chairman Bill Ford.
"There's no question our business model will look very different in the future than it does today," the great-grandson of founder Henry Ford said Thursday in an interview. "Our management team understands we're going to be playing in two different worlds. On one hand, we have to deliver great cars and trucks today. And yet, we need intellectual horsepower aimed at charting a path through this very disruptive future."
As more people migrate to big cities, new forms of transportation are needed to keep them mobile and avoid global gridlock, Ford said before speaking at the Mackinac Policy Conference, which draws business and political leaders to a Michigan island resort that outlaws autos and features horse-drawn carriages.