CEO: Ford can make money on public transit

Ford acquired the crowd-sourcing ride-sharing van service Chariot in September.

Ford is poised to reshape its business model to capitalize as cities redesign public transportation and urban development in the age of ride-hailing, self-driving cars, CEO Mark Fields said in an interview.
Fields told USA TODAY in an interview at the Detroit auto show that Ford projects 20% profit margins on mobility services, which is about double typical North American profit margins for automakers in good times.
Fields said Ford plans to help cities design public-transit solutions and said Ford autonomous vehicles could be part of city-government ride-sharing programs. Ford plans to release a self-driving car without steering wheel capable of operating in geo-mapped cities in 2021.
Some experts believe that in the future, many consumers will user their smartphones to summon self-driving cars instead of owning their own vehicles, a prospect that poses risks and opportunities for automakers.
"New business models on mobility services can offer up a lot of opportunity for reoccurring revenue on, let’s say, the usage of our products, as well as new opportunities for us working with cities," Fields said. "So we think it could add a whole new element of growth to our business going forward."