Vehicle manufacturers are exploring new boundaries of technical innovation and development as they endeavour to move their products and services into the digital age.
 
Ford is no exception to this as they look to work with different tech companies finding new ways to win customers and improve build and delivery times.

UGS Corporation is a leading global provider of Product Life-cycle Management (PLM), in a nutshell they develop software that tracks products from inception, engineering design through to manufacture, production, delivery, service and disposal and also allows these processes to be controlled digitally.
 
Ford Motor Company has a wholly owned subsidiary called Ford Global Technologies, (FGT) which manages and commercialises patents and copyrights for The Ford Motor Company.

FGT was incorporated in 2002 and operates as a subsidiary of Ford. Recently Ford announced this alliance with UGS Corporation, which will focus on accelerating the delivery of commercial products that enable innovation within the vehicle development process. These new solutions will help Ford to be more innovative.

Through the Ford Innovation Acceleration Centre, based within Ford’s headquarters, Ford, and FGT will work to reduce cycle time and bring better quality vehicles to the market faster. 
 
In another joint development agreement Ford and DowAksa are working together on new research into cost-effective, high-volume manufacturing of automotive-grade carbon fibre.

According to Ford this material is poised to play a significant role in the drive to make vehicles lighter for greater fuel efficiency, performance and capability.
 
The agreement, between the Ford and DowAksa will combine to produce materials that make cost-effective carbon fibre composite parts that are much lighter than steel but still meet automotive strength requirements. This agreement allows the companies to collaboratively generate these new, lower-cost automotive grades of carbon fibre for Ford vehicles.

March 2016