David Berdish
Ford Motor Company

At Ford, we're viewing the issues of urbanization, congestion and the growing gap between rich and poor not as a threat, but as an opportunity to develop a new business model that will improve transportation in densely populated urban markets around the world.

This means adapting from a business that focuses solely on products to a business that also focuses on services, relationships and partnerships. Rather than being a provider of cars and trucks, we'll be a provider of cars, trucks and integrated urban mobility services.

Clearly, the answer to mobility problems is not selling 1.8 cars and trucks to every household in the world. Together with our stakeholders, we must develop new transportation solutions that will enhance the ways people move within and around cities.

We must integrate trains, buses and taxis with car shares, rickshaws and bicycles, in ways that are safe, easy to use and easy to access. We want Ford to be at the forefront of these new modes of transportation, providing the connections and the integration and even the branding.

One of the challenges with this new model is that urban transportation has traditionally been the domain of governments – not private industry. Another challenge is a degree of skepticism among those who believe we simply want to put more vehicles on the road.

Will this ultimately mean fewer cars on the roads? Probably not. Our target audiences for these services would never be able to afford our cars in the first place. Even if they could, in many densely populated cities, the infrastructure is so bad and congestion is so heavy, they don't want to drive them. Many cities are already using congestion pricing, and others are considering bans on vehicles in city centers.

We believe we have a chance to actually increase our sales. Those who can afford cars will always want them. Meanwhile, we can focus on providing integrated services to a growing urban market. The car market still stays the same; Ford's share of the transportation market, however, will grow.

David Berdish
Manager of Sustainable Business Development, Ford Motor Company