Product Development

The development of our new products starts with the identification of advanced technologies and breakthrough ideas by our Research Labs and our Advanced Product Strategy, Advanced Marketing and Advanced Design groups. These groups continuously scan the latest developments in technologies and consumer trends to identify the best new technologies and anticipate the needs and desires of the marketplace. Once a new product is conceived, product development engineers, designers and product marketing teams work together to finalize a vehicle concept. Once approved, our vehicle programs are brought to market using our Global Product Development System, or GPDS.

The GPDS, launched in 2005, merges the best product-creation methods from all of Ford Motor Company's global operations, including Mazda's efficient manufacturing disciplines, Volvo's work with computer-aided design and manufacturing, and a return to the in-house engineering of a number of major vehicle components. The GPDS provides a common set of milestones and metrics for the development of all vehicle programs across our regional business groups, which increases efficiency and quality. As a part of this system, we require all vehicles to meet specific competitive and performance targets at every milestone along the product's development path. These targets consider a wide range of environmental performance criteria, such as fuel economy, recycled materials and substances of concern.