The integration of Apple Maps into Ford’s upcoming Universal Electric Vehicle Platform (UEV Platform) will be done through Apple’s new MapKit for Automotive SDK, which enables automakers to embed and customize Apple Maps, Apple said in a press release.
When it appears in Ford’s UEV Platform in 2027, the integration will deliver the Apple Maps-powered navigation experience through the vehicle’s displays. The experience will include turn-by-turn directions using natural language, real-time traffic and incident information, intuitive search and routing options, according to the release.
In addition, Ford will use Apple Maps information to build a hands-free driving experience, per the release.
“With our new MapKit for Automotive SDK, we’re bringing Maps further into drivers’ daily lives, giving them an incredibly accurate and easy-to-use navigation system that is seamlessly integrated into Ford vehicles,” Eddy Cue, senior vice president of Services and Health at Apple, said in the release.
In its own Thursday press release about the integration, Ford said that it will be among the first automakers to embed Apple Maps into a vehicle.
Ford’s Universal Electric Vehicle Platform will underpin a family of more affordable electric vehicles that will be priced around $30,000 and will start reaching the market in 2027, with a mid-size electric truck leading the way, according to Ford’s website about the platform.
The automaker will also use Apple Maps’ road-level information to help develop its next-generation BlueCruise hands-free highway driving capability. Ford’s wholly owned subsidiary focused on autonomy, Latitude AI, is developing a Ford Large Driving Model that supports a range of self-driving capabilities, according to the release.
“Apple Maps has delivered a world-class product, and we’re honored to be among the first to embed it directly into a vehicle, helping define intuitive, capable driving,” Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley said in the release.
It was reported in February that Apple was preparing to allow other companies’ voice-controlled artificial intelligence chatbots to operate within its vehicle interface, CarPlay. At the time, the company allowed only its own assistant, Siri, as a voice-control option in CarPlay.
