Story by Yahoo Finance
We’re still waiting on flying cars, but there is serious innovation in the auto world. Tesla’s electric cars and Google’s self-driving cars are changing the way we think about driving, but so far these technologies have been elusive—banned in the U.S. or reserved for the 1%.
Ford CEO Mark Fields wants to change that. “Clearly we have the capability to create electric vehicles,” he tells Yahoo Finance’s Bianna Golodryga in the associated video. Ford is currently ranked number two in the electric market and has released the popular Ford Focus, which was ranked as the most fuel-efficient compact car sold within the United States.
“Tesla (TSLA) has done a very good job of bringing electrified cars into the consciousness of the American people,” he says, but “Tesla’s approach is to cater to a high-end consumer.” Ford’s approach, according to Fields, will be to make electrified vehicles “attainable to the masses.”
Fields claims that Ford has no interest in buying Tesla, despite a slew of rumors that Ford and GM were both pursuing the company.
When it comes to driverless cars, there seem to be legal roadblocks popping up all over America. The FBI and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have also expressed concerns over the self-driving vehicles. Meanwhile, the UK will allow the cars on roads starting in January. So is the U.S. falling behind the curve? “Overall, when you think of autonomous vehicles you’ll see driver-assisted technologies migrate across our entire lineup over time,” he says.
Fields isn’t concerned about America’s slow pace in adopting these technologies. He believes we’re still researching, sensor-detectors are still improving and infrastructure is still being built. “Our approach at Ford is to look at this as an opportunity for us going forward and that’s exactly how we’re going to look at it.”
