Ford has just announced that it plans to “unveil a new global vehicle featuring advanced connectivity, safety and driver assist technologies” at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Ford’s session at the conference is scheduled for February 24th at 10:00 CET.
In addition, Ford of Europe will also display a new automated research vehicle that “envisions a future of autonomous functionality and advanced technologies after 2025”. The vehicle, which will be showcased in Europe for the fist time, will be shown at Fira Gran Via, Hall 3, stand #C20.
The theme for the 2014 Mobile World Congress is “Creating What’s Next”, and rounding out The Blue Oval’s presence at the event will be two executives who will each deliver a keynote speech. On February 25th at 09:00 CET (Hall 4, Auditorium 1), Stephen Odell, President, Ford of Europe, Middle East and Africa, will deliver a keynote address entitled “Connected Lives, Connected Cars”, and two days later, at 11:30 CET Februrary 27th, Paul Mascarenas, Ford chief technical officer and vice president Research and Innovation, will deliver a keynote address entitled, “Steering the Automotive Industry into the Future with M2M” (Hall 4, Auditorium 2).
The Motrolix Take
We’re going to make a few educated guesses about what Ford has planned for this year’s MWC. First: the “new global vehicle” with “advanced connectivity, safety, and driver assist technologies” will likely be none other than the Ford Edge concept that originally made its debut at the 2013 LA Auto Show. After all, the next-gen Edge will be “new” and “global”, and is loaded with all kinds of advanced technology. Meanwhile, the new research vehicle that’s being showcased in Europe for the first time is likely the Fusion Hybrid Automated Research Vehicle, whose purpose is to progress future automated driving and other advanced technologies. The car has been demonstrated on U.S. shores, but hasn’t made a European appearance as far as we know… until MWC.
Of course, those are just guesses, and we’d love to see an all-new global vehicle, one that we’ve never seen before, shown at MWC in Barcelona. But chances are that we’re correct about our predictions — and probably won’t see anything too earth-shattering.
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