Ford is going all-in on self-driving cars

Ford Fusion Hybrid automated research vehicle

(Ford) Ford's Fusion Hybrid automated research vehicle

America’s second-largest automaker is following on the heels of Silicon Valley and pursuing self-driving vehicles.

Ford announced Tuesday that it has created a team devoted to autonomous-vehicle development.

Based in Palo Alto, California, the team will be tasked with “taking the company to the next level in connectivity, mobility and autonomous vehicles,” according to a press release.

“During the next five years, we will move to migrate driver-assist technologies across our product lineup to help make our roads safer and continue to increase automated driving capability,” said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president of Global Product Development, in the release.

“At the same time, we are working to make sure those features and the whole way you shop for, buy and own a Ford vehicle provides an outstanding customer experience.”

Ford has lagged behind competitors, including GM, Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes and Tesla, which have all announced plans to offer semi-automated driving systems within the next year and a half, according to Reuters.

Automatic braking and pedestrian detection are also on the docket for Ford’s Silicon Valley research and innovation center, which expects to have 125 employees by year-end. Those features are already available on the Mondeo sedan in Europe.

Ford says that all its vehicles will feature pre-collision assist and pedestrian detection by 2019.

NOW WATCH: This new version of Google's self-driving car will hit the streets of Mountain View this summer

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