Ford Is Teaming Up With Apple For Its New Lineup Of EVs

Even as the sales of electric vehicles have been a bit up and down in the last year or so, automakers have even been hard at work developing new battery-powered product lines. Some have been developing partnerships with tech companies to help make their EVs smarter and more adaptable to the modern world. Ford Motor Company is officially in that conversation, with the American automaker recently announcing a deal to feature Apple tech in some of its forthcoming EVs.

Per both Apple and Ford, the new partnership will find the iconic tech company's Apple Maps serving as the primary point of navigational support for part of the automaker's EV fleet. Maps is expected to be fully integrated into the operating system of those vehicles by way of Apple's new MapKit for Automotive SDK, offering drivers turn-by-turn navigation utilizing real-time traffic and incident info, upgraded routing options, and intuitive search features delivered with more natural speech recognition.

You can, of course, already access Apple Maps by utilizing the CarPlay feature that is supported by infotainment systems of newer cars, trucks, and SUVs. The difference is that the full integration of MapKit for Automotive SDK means you won't need to connect your phone to use Apple's navigation. In fact, you won't need your phone at all.

You will not be seeing Apple Maps in any of Ford's electric vehicles this year. Moreover, the navigational app will, at least initially, only be available in a limited range of the automaker's EV lineup. Those vehicles have not even made it off of the production line yet, as Ford's forthcoming UEV models will be the first to hit the road with Apple Maps at the navigational helm.

Ford developed the Universal Electric Vehicle platform in order to offer a more affordable model of EV. To that end, the company sought insight from the design crew at its own skunkworks lab to help develop a model that required fewer parts to assemble, which should, in turn, streamline production and make the vehicles easier to sell to consumers at a reduced price. 

The target base level MSRP for Ford's UEV lineup is about $30,000, which should prove enticing indeed. The only catch is that Ford has yet to officially announce what its first UEV will actually be. We know that the automaker's first UEV will hit the market sometime in 2027. If early rumors are to be believed, the brand's first budget-friendly EV is likely to be the forthcoming 2028 Ranchero. Until we get concrete confirmation, however, it's not entirely certain which UEV will be the first to utilize the fully integrated Apple Maps for navigation.