Ford Motor said Thursday that driver-assistance systems in its new electric vehicles would use Apple software, giving the technology company a much more central place in vehicle operations than it has ever had.
Apple CarPlay, available in many cars, allows drivers to connect their vehicle screens to their iPhones, letting them use apps like Apple Maps or Siri.
But the agreement with Ford goes further by allowing Apple software to play a role in determining how cars and trucks operate when they are operating autonomously at least some of the time.
In another first, Apple and Ford engineers are working together to improve self-driving capabilities of cars that will arrive in dealer showrooms next year. Previously, Apple and carmakers tended to work separately. The Apple software will reside in the vehicle, meaning that owners will not need an iPhone to use it.
“Apple Maps will be embedded in the vehicle, so you don’t have to pay anything extra,” Jim Farley, Ford’s chief executive, said in an interview. “This is one of the most important announcements for Ford,” he added.
Many carmakers have been reluctant to work too closely with technology companies like Apple and Google, fearful of giving up revenue and relationships with customers to companies with far greater financial resources. Apple’s $4.8 trillion stock market valuation dwarfs Ford’s valuation of $58 billion.
Many newer car companies like Tesla and Rivian never allowed their customers to use CarPlay or Android Auto, the Google equivalent, in their cars. Tesla and Rivian developed their own software systems, which allow users to download certain apps made by other companies. Some executives at established automakers plan to emulate that model.
General Motors has said it intends to replace CarPlay in all new cars with G.M. software. The cars will still have access to certain apps from Apple, Google and other companies, but the automaker will control the operating system.
But traditional automakers have struggled to devise their own software, which has become an increasingly critical component of automotive design. Chinese carmakers have been growing quickly in Europe and Asia in part because the software in their vehicles is easier to use and more capable, analysts say. One of the most successful Chinese carmakers is Xiaomi, which made its name in smartphones.
Ford is the first major automaker to agree to use Apple’s new automotive software, said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services and health. But Apple plans to offer it to other carmakers, he said in an interview.
Collaborating with Apple allows Ford to cut development costs and still offer advanced driving features in a new, electric pickup that the company plans to begin selling next year, Mr. Farley said.
The pickup will be the first of several electric vehicles developed by a Ford team led by Alan Clarke, a former Tesla executive. Ford plans to sell the pickup for around $30,000, significantly less than most electric vehicles available today.
Ford engineers are taking the lead in developing a more capable version of Blue Cruise, self-driving software that allows Ford owners to take their hands off the steering wheel on certain highways. But they are also collaborating with Apple engineers, Mr. Farley said.
The technology will allow cars to drive themselves from highway on-ramps to exits, which would not be possible without Apple technology, he said. “We really want to have an automated hands-free driving experience at this price point,” Mr. Farley said.
Apple and Ford plan to continue to add features to vehicles, he said. Recently Ford updated software in some of its Mustang Mach-E vehicles to adjust the temperature of batteries when using Apple Maps to navigate to a charging station. Doing so allows cars to charge more quickly. Previously, battery preconditioning was possible only when drivers used the Ford navigation system.
“This is the beginning,” Mr. Cue said. “We have a lot of plans for our Maps over the coming years. And so we’re excited to be working with Ford engineers on how we can continue to make this even better and better.”
A secretive team at Apple worked for years on prototypes of a self-driving car, but never publicly unveiled a product before shelving the project.
Mr. Cue said the technology being used by Ford came from the Apple Maps team. “It’s leveraging everything that we have done over the past decade,” he said.
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