Ford explains why it chose Apple Maps over Google for its new EVs

Earlier this year, Apple announced a partnership with Ford to bring native Apple Maps integration to the automaker’s upcoming Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) Platform, including what we now know is called the Fathom.

In a new interview, Alan Clarke, Ford’s vice president of advanced vehicle projects, elaborated on the decision to use Apple Maps instead of Google Maps and what this means for CarPlay Ultra.

In an interview with GreenCars, Clarke said Ford spoke with Apple, Google, and others about mapping for the Fathom. Ultimately, the company turned to Apple:

“We had to optimize for performance capabilities cost, quality, you name it. We spent time determining which was the best solution.

A couple of things about Apple Maps.

One is that it has gotten so much better over the last few years. It’s a really great solution. The team that we worked with at Apple was very flexible to ensure that we get the absolute best customer experience.”

Clarke said Ford wanted a close working relationship with the Apple Maps team. There are a lot of factors that go into mapping for an EV, including things like range, charger availability, weather, and more. Taking all of those things into account, Ford determined Apple offers “the best solution.”

“We wanted to make sure that we had really tight integration with that team when we’re talking about the things that have to happen on a vehicle: range estimation and determining how much range you have and how you want to precondition the batteries and how you charge.

You need a great maps provider that has the capability to get elevation, weather, and the maps data to have accurate updated information about chargers.

I think we thought that Apple was the best solution for this vehicle in order to get the customer the best solution.

It’s amazing to be first as well. Apple Maps looks beautiful, and having a large display to be able to put it on we think will be a really big wow factor for our customers when they get to see it.”

Clarke also confirmed that this is Ford integrating Apple Maps into its native, in-car software platform. The automaker is not adopting CarPlay Ultra in the Fathom. Instead, it will offer native Apple Maps, plus standard CarPlay and Android Auto.

With CarPlay support, Ford drivers can choose between Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze, and other mapping solutions. They can also easily access many excellent third-party CarPlay apps.

You can watch the full interview on the GreenCars YouTube channel.