Overview
- Apple and Ford announced Thursday that Apple Maps will be embedded in Ford’s Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) Platform, with the integration scheduled to arrive in 2027.
- The in‑vehicle system will offer natural‑language turn‑by‑turn directions, real‑time traffic and incidents, detailed place cards, and intelligent EV routing that includes battery preconditioning.
- Apple said the feature is enabled by its new MapKit for Automotive SDK and that the SDK follows Apple Maps’ existing privacy approach, which the company says does not tie vehicle map activity to individual users.
- Ford plans to use Apple’s road‑level mapping data for its Latitude AI work to refine next‑generation BlueCruise hands‑free highway driving, while CarPlay will remain an optional feature.
- Ford says the UEV rollout will include a new midsize EV aimed at about $30,000, and Apple indicated this is an early automaker deal that could open the door to more OEM integrations.