Ford to use Google's automotive tech and cloud services

Future vehicles will feature Android infotainment system

Ford is teaming up with Google for in-car tech.

The companies announced on Monday that Ford’s future vehicles will use an Android-based infotainment system and that the automaker will transition its operations from Amazon Web Services to the Google Cloud through a six-year deal that begins in 2023.

Ford follows Volvo-owned Polestar in adopting the Android platform, which integrates the voice-controlled Google Assistant, Google Maps and Google Play.

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Ford Vice President, Strategy and Partnerships, David McCelland said the automaker hasn’t decided if the in-car product would use the Sync branding. The latest Sync 4 system uses a proprietary Ford interface and is powered by Blackberry QNX operating system.

Apple CarPlay smartphone integration and Amazon's Alexa will continue to be offered with the new infotainment system, which will be opened to third-party app development.

Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

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The tie-up comes after January’s announcement that Microsoft is taking part in a $2 billion funding round in General Motors’ Cruise autonomous car division and will provide it with the Microsoft Azure cloud computing service.