Ford

Ford Creates Separate Self-Driving Vehicle Company

Now part of its own identity, Ford's self-driving segment will push forward.

Ford has announced the creation of a new self-driving vehicle division called Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC.

This separate company will fully focus on the self-driving business through a new subsidiary to accept outside investments and manage all of its autonomous vehicle programs, including research and creation of a self-driving car network.

In all, $4 billion in investments will be made over the next four years, with $1 billion already pumped into artificial intelligence startup Argo AI, founded by two ex-Google and Uber employees.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

"Ford has made tremendous progress across the self-driving value chain — from technology development to business model innovation to user experience," said Ford CEO Jim Hackett. "Now is the right time to consolidate our autonomous driving platform into one team to best position the business for the opportunities ahead."

The move allow means expansion of its main campus in Detroit, now home to more than 2,000 employees working on self-driving vehicles.

NEXT: NISSAN LEAF E-PLUS TO DEBUT IN 2019

WATCH