NEW YORK, May 15 ― Long after fellow American car brand Tesla, Ford has announced the implementation of a remote update programme for its future models. Just as we regularly update the operating system of our computer or cell phone, it will be the same for our car with the appearance of new features particularly regarding autonomous driving.

By adopting remote over the air (OTA) updates, Ford wants to simplify the process of integrating new features into the cars of its customers. The American manufacturer has announced that all its future models will have this capability. This means that by 2028, nearly 33 million cars will be able to be updated remotely, when necessary, without owners having to go to a dealership or garage. Ford says that in the past two months, 100,000 F-150 and Mustang Mach-E owners have already been able to take advantage of this. By the end of this year, 700,000 vehicles should be eligible for this system.

Among the next updates announced is the integration of Alexa, Amazon's intelligent assistant. This will make it possible to communicate with Alexa and ask her for information about the weather, the nearest gas station or for directions to your next appointment. More importantly, Ford will soon allow, via a simple remote update, access to its BlueCruise semi-autonomous highway driving mode.

In addition to a deal with Amazon for Alexa integration, Ford also announced that it is teaming up with Google for its future infotainment system, which will run on Android. This means that Google's main services, including Maps and Assistant, will be accessible in the car without necessarily needing an Android smartphone.

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All these moves reflect the current path of the auto industry, and other manufacturers like Mercedes, Volkswagen and Volvo have also understood this. This type of OTA service should gradually be adopted by all manufacturers, to the great displeasure of car dealers who will be much less called upon, by force of circumstance. Many failures and malfunctions can be corrected by this type of remote update, available 24/7. Hopefully these updates will go down too often. ― ETX Studio