Apple Maps to power navigation experience for Ford UEV Platform

Apple and Ford announced that Apple Maps will be embedded directly into Ford’s upcoming Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) Platform, scheduled for release in 2027. The integration will provide drivers with turn-by-turn navigation, real-time traffic and incident updates, and intuitive search features through the vehicle’s display. The system will also support natural language directions and detailed place cards for easier destination selection.

Ford’s UEV Platform will include intelligent EV routing capabilities, such as battery preconditioning, to optimize charging and efficiency. The company will also use Apple Maps’ road-level data to enhance its next-generation BlueCruise hands-free driving system, improving highway navigation from on-ramp to off-ramp. Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services and Health, highlighted the collaboration as a way to bring Apple Maps’ navigation technology to Ford’s electric vehicles.

Ford’s CEO Jim Farley described the new midsize electric vehicle, priced around $30,000, as redefining accessible advanced technology. He emphasized the integration of Apple Maps as part of a broader suite of software and features, including next-generation BlueCruise, enabled by a new zonal vehicle architecture. Farley noted that Apple Maps’ navigation and mapping technology would provide customers with an intuitive and capable driving experience.

The integration is made possible by Apple’s new MapKit for Automotive SDK, which allows automakers to customize and embed Apple Maps into their vehicles. The SDK maintains Apple’s privacy standards, ensuring users’ location data is not collected in a way that can be tied back to individuals. CarPlay will remain available on Ford vehicles, offering drivers a separate interface for using their iPhone in the car.