Ford (F) has revealed a new app called FordPass that isn’t just for owners of its cars.
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FordPass is an everyman’s concierge service. “It will require partnerships between existing and new companies, start-ups and more”. Customers can use the app to find, reserve and pay for parking spots at lots and garages in downtowns. The service Ford calls a “Marketplace” will help you book and pay for parking in advance, share cars, and even soon in the near future, help you with book ridesharing trips. I’m not entirely sure the two are as similar in effect as Ford wants them to be, but with plans for added features down the road, FordPass could easily develop into a handy assistant living right in your pocket.
Anyone can use FordPass, whether you own a Ford or not, and the service includes four different benefits that can help you get around with the help of live FordGuides, find parking, earn rewards and go to a FordHub to design a new vehicle.
Ford used the Detroit auto show to show off its refreshed 2017 Fusion sedan; the latest version of its Raptor off-road truck; and, perhaps most interestingly, its new FordPass platform. The auto maker is also partnering with several third-party services to help drivers with various needs, such as finding parking, and aims to shore up customer loyalty with merchandise deals with other big retail players such as McDonald’s and 7-Eleven.
“Instead of having a handful of interactions with consumers each year, we determined we could actually have a handful of interactions each day, with the intention to make people’s lives easier and more rewarding”, said Stephen Odell, Ford executive vice president, Global Marketing, Sales and Service.
If you are a Ford vehicle owner, you can also use Marketplace to schedule maintenance with your preferred dealer.
A FordPass membership is free for Ford vehicle owners and non-owners alike.
As Ford rolls out cars equipped with Sync 3 and also with Sync Connect, Ford’s coming onboard telematics system, owners will be able to interact with the auto. Ford is developing a digital wallet to handle purchases if users don’t have other digital wallets such as Apple Pay. Their only job is to guide, serve and help solve mobility challenges – not to sell. FordPass will be first launched in the United States and Canada and gradually in specific European markets and in China and Brazil.
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The company said to complement the app it is opening FordHubs – showrooms with on-site FordGuides – in New York, London, Shanghai and San Francisco; the first of which will open later this year at New York’s Westfield World Trade Center.
