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Alternatively powered automobiles are an ongoing discussion and electric vehicles often enter that conversation.  Recently, Volvo outlined an electrified vehicle platform and now Ford is bringing something similar to the table. The Dearborn, Michigan automaker has announced the unveiling of 13 new electrified vehicles by 2020 – a $4.5 billion investment.  This represents Ford?s largest-ever electrified vehicle investment in a five-year period and by 2020, more than 40 percent of Ford’s global nameplates will have an electrified counterpart.
Ford’s electric vehicles are just one element and certinately not meant to stand by themselves. A desired enhancement of the customer experience is promoting a change in product development for the new vehicles. Ford’s stance is anybody can make the electric technology but not everybody can make it engaging. “The challenge going forward isn?t who provides the most technology in a vehicle but who best organizes that technology in a way that most excites and delights people,” said Raj Nair, Executive Vice President, Product Development.
Ford has gone beyond traditional market research, investing in a global, social science-based approach. The automaker is observing how consumers interact with and attach themselves to vehicles. The insights into the cognitive, social, cultural, technological, and economic environments surrounding people and their a...