Ford Smart Mobility buys Journey Holding as part of tech push

Dive Brief:

Ford Smart Mobility, a division of the Ford Motor Company, announced Tuesday it acquired Journey Holding, a technology company that provides software solutions for intelligent transportation systems.
Journey's operations will be integrated with Ford Smart Mobility's TransLoc, which provides technology solutions for public and private transit operations. The new group will serve nearly 1,200 cities, universities, corporate campuses and other areas with software solutions for fixed-route and on-demand transportation, and other related areas.
By combining the companies, Ford hopes to help cities deliver more "seamless, productive and accessible" transportation, said Brett Wheatley, vice president of Ford Mobility Marketing and Growth, in a statement. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Dive Insight:

This latest acquisition is part of a wider push by Ford to move into other areas of mobility, including autonomous vehicles (AVs), electric vehicles (EVs), dockless bikes and scooters.

The company bought Spin to accelerate that push into the micromobility marketplace, while it announced earlier this month a partnership with Volkswagen and its AV startup Argo AI. In a less-highlighted development at the time of this Journey acquisition, Ford announced it bought Quantum Signal, a robotics software development company and military contractor.

This acquisition is part of a wider trend of automakers trying to keep pace with the changing nature of transportation.

Companies are signing deals to cooperate on AV and EV research, while MINI is moving beyond manufacturing cars into real estate management, fashion and other mobility areas. Not every venture has been successful, Ford's shuttle startup Chariot ceased operations in January.

As automakers look to maintain profits and move into the next generation of mobility options, more acquisitions that take advantage of technological developments and speed up the race to deploying AVs are likely.

This deal could also help cities and Ford plan more efficient transportation routes.