Mobility

Most automakers define sustainable mobility as reducing the environmental impacts of the vehicles they offer by cutting the vehicles' lifecycle greenhouse gases and other emissions. At Ford, we see this as an important piece of the picture – and we're working hard to achieve it.

But there are other important pieces as well. Consider this: today, there are 6.7 billion people in the world. By 2050, there will be 9 billion, 75 percent of whom will live in urban areas. Putting 9 billion people into private automobiles is neither practical nor desirable. The Earth lacks the resources to make and fuel those autos and to provide infrastructure to accommodate them. And with congestion already choking many urban areas, adding more vehicles – however clean – onto already-stressed roads will threaten to overwhelm them (see Mega-Cities: the Icon of Personal Mobility Challenges).

Yet mobility is a critical enabler of economic growth and human potential. As the Earth's population grows, so does its need for mobility. That mobility must be based on new, more sustainable models. This doesn't mean giving up the freedom afforded by private automobiles. It means including them as one of many options in an integrated system that harnesses the power of information and communication technologies to tie together diverse, appealing modes of travel. It also means building and redeveloping communities with sustainable mobility in mind.

At Ford, our goal is to make mobility affordable in every sense of the word – economically, environmentally and socially. We believe that creative collaboration and innovative technologies and services can yield new solutions, and that these solutions can harness the benefits of mobility while reducing its environmental and social impacts. We aim to be a trusted partner with the many institutions that must cooperate to implement new mobility models. Not only will we be ready with low-carbon vehicles, but also with expertise, insight and mobility solutions.

Electric Vehicles Play a Role

Electric vehicles could play an important role in more sustainable, integrated, urban mobility systems. But a wholesale shift to electric vehicles will also require systemic change. Charging infrastructure needs to be developed, electric vehicles must be integrated with electric utilities, and vehicles and grids must be knit together into an efficient system. The technologies that enable these shifts – universal connectivity, in-vehicle information systems, cloud computing – are becoming widely available. For example, our newest-generation SYNC® system makes automobiles rolling communication and information platforms, which will help them to integrate seamlessly with "smart" electric grids and mobility systems.

Progress in 2009

During 2009, Ford continued to catalyze and conduct dialogues with key regional stakeholders, exploring sustainable mobility projects in Atlanta, Georgia; Richmond, Virginia; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and Los Angeles, California. These efforts brought together a range of parties – including municipal and state government officials, utilities, transportation planners and nongovernmental organizations – to envision solutions and pursue the funding needed to implement them. Ford's role in these projects built on its experience catalyzing mobility projects in India, South Africa and Brazil.

This section describes the actions Ford is taking to deepen our understanding of the future of mobility and to develop and test sustainable mobility solutions for all of our global customers.