Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

On Aug. 15, Ford CEO Jim Farley expects revenue from in-car software services to soar by 1000% over the next few years.

To capitalize on this growth, Ford announced that it had hired Peter Stern (Peter Stern), a former vice president of services at Apple, to help manage a new, technology-focused division. Stern's task is to develop Ford's hands-free driving system, BlueCruise, and other in-car services for millions of owners.

Stern left Apple earlier this year after six years at Apple, where he helped launch a range of services, including Apple TV Plus, Apple News Plus, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness Plus, MLS Season Pass and Apple One.

Ford CEO Jim Farley's goal is to create a sustained revenue stream through software services to balance the boom and bust cycles of the automotive business. Ford already has 500000 software users, most of which are commercial fleet businesses, Farley said on a conference call.

Mr Farley added: "We now have hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and healthy profit margins. Based on the growth trajectory we have seen, we expect this revenue to increase tenfold in the next few years."

Farley says the gross profit margin for selling services such as speed control software is more than 50%. By contrast, Ford's EBIT margin in the first half of this year was just 8.3 per cent.

Mr Farley said Ford would launch a new electric architecture on its fuel and electric models in 2025 and 2026, including the best-selling Fmuri 150 pickup truck, which would enable the company to offer more subscription services, especially in the area of security.

"this will be Ford's fastest-growing revenue," Farley said. "unlike our auto business, this part of the business has a very high profit margin."

Stern is the latest former Apple executive to switch to the auto industry. At Ford, he joined Doug Field, who was hired by Farley in 2021. Field was actually in charge of Apple's Titan Project, a self-driving electric car.

Mr Stern said he would work "closely" with Mr Field. Field currently heads Ford's Model e division and is responsible for the development of new automotive technologies, including electric vehicles, hands-free driving features and software services.

In May, GM hired Mike Mike Abbott, a former vice president of engineering for Apple's cloud services division, to lead its newly formed software division.

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