Ford partners with TomTom for next-generation navigation system

Ford announced on Thursday that TomTom Global has been awarded a multi-year contract to provide real-time mapping for its next-generation navigation system.

The SYNC navigation system will debut in Ford’s upcoming 2021 F-150 pickup and the all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV.

Ford’s system with TomTom Traffic is designed to provide the most current traffic and construction information by using up-to-the-minute information to predict congestion points before they occur.

TomTom is able to use information from millions of connected devices to analyze traffic patterns and update its information every 30 seconds.

“The all-new F-150 is Ford’s flagship and the Mustang Mach-E is one of the industry’s most exciting vehicles this year–-both are leading the next automotive revolution of connected vehicles,” said Stuart Taylor, executive director of Enterprise Connectivity.

“Their next-generation SYNC technologies have twice the computing power of the previous-generation system to do much more, including real-time, smartphone-like mapping that can help you adjust on the fly to quicker routes based on their network of millions of connected devices.”

The 2021 F-150 should arrive on the market this fall with the SYNC 4 technology a part of the standard package. The 2021 Mustang Mach E, according to Ford’s website, is slated to be released “late 2020.”