Ford to open smart mobility office in London

Ford is to open a dedicated Ford Smart Mobility Innovation Office in London giving close proximity to trials of its plug-in hybrid Transit fleet project which starts later this year.

The new office located on the Here East Campus, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, will have an initial capacity for around 40 specialists and is set to open later this year.

“Basing our rapidly growing team here in the heart of mobility innovation in London is critical to accelerating our learning and development of new technologies. The location at Here East will allow us greater collaboration and the out-of-the-box thinking needed to tackle the urban transport challenges of tomorrow,” said Steven Armstrong, group vice president and president of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Ford Motor Company, at the opening of London Tech Week.

“We will also be ideally placed to build on existing partner projects and have access to London’s world-class digital talent. Both will be key as we build towards our ambition of being a global leader in mobility solutions.”

The campus is already home to Loughborough University, one of Ford’s longest standing and most significant U.K. university research partners, as well as the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), which Ford has worked with on powertrain research and this year the plug-in hybrid Transit development. Other tenants include the brand new Plexal Innovation Centre and UCL Robotics.