Ford may be adding a driverless parking assistant feature to its vehicles after a set of image files were seen on its remote vehicle app, FordPass.
The vehicle app was updated last week, and users believe that the automaker is dropping a hint about a possible future feature.
Ford's Driverless Assistant Feature
According to Electrek, the images added to the vehicle app have filenames that start with "freeDriveForward" and "freeDriveBehind," which many believe are stencil drawings of the overhead view of a Ford F-150 Lighting. There are also arrows pointing from the car's front and rear.
The images also show the vehicle's front view between two Ford Mustang Mach-Es, while a checkbox pops up on an iPhone. This is a clear representation of a driver-free parking feature.
The feature may be called FreeDrive, as the filenames of the images suggest. The automaker's marketing team is known for word mash-ups like ActiveGlide, BlueCruise, PowerBoost, EcoSport, EcoBoost, and its vehicle app FordPass.
The driverless parking assistant will allow drivers to park a vehicle in a tight parking space without worrying about getting into an accident.
Another automaker that has the same feature is Hyundai. The Korean car company has called its driverless parking assistant Smart Park version.
Ford, Hyundai, and other automakers are following Tesla's popular feature called Summon, which gives the car the ability to back itself out of a garage even without a driver present.
However, the beta version of Tesla's Summon software caused collisions during the early stages of its test run, according to The Verge.
The Elon Musk-owned car company upgraded the feature to Smart Summon, which gives drivers the ability to summon their vehicles without hitting anything. This feature allows vehicles to come to where the driver is autonomously, but it still faces a lot of issues.
Unlike Tesla, Ford is more conservative and calculated when using this car technology. The automaker's next-generation advanced driver assistance system called BlueCruise, which was added to the Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicle, was delayed.
Ford's EV sales skyrocketed last year, and the automaker wants to keep the record this year.
India Shows Interest in Ford
Governments around the world are introducing bills that push for the production and use of electric vehicles in their respective countries in an attempt to reduce air pollution.
According to Business Today, India offered incentives to several automakers, including Ford, Suzuki, and Hyundai, to boost the production of electric and hydrogen fuel-powered vehicles in the country. The scheme has a budget of $3.5 billion.
The proposal by the Indian government came a month after Ford announced that it would be using one of its plants in the country to produce electric vehicles for exports because it would stop selling cars in the Indian market.
In 2021, Ford pulled the plug on India's market, but it has retained its two factories in the country, and both are still in operation to this day.
Ford, Hyundai, Suzuki, and the 20 other automakers who received the offer from the Indian government did not release any statement yet and have not confirmed if they accepted the offer.
Related Article: Ford to Boost Electric F-150 Lightning Production | Target Now Surges to 150K After Tripling Mach-E
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Written by Sophie Webster
