Ford delays launch of robotaxi service to 2022

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Ford is pushing inadvertently the launch of its forthcoming robotaxi as able-bodied as self-governing ligation casework from 2021 to 2022, the company announced today, due to the economic impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

"Given the challenges of the current lifework environment, as able-bodied as the overcrowd to evaluate the long-term impact of COVID-19 on consumer behaviors, Ford fabricated the eligibility to shift the launch of its self-driving casework to 2022," Ford said in a stead to The Verge. The company says it will use the actress time to research "changes in consumer behaviors," which will acquiesce the company to "evaluate as able-bodied as potentially extravagate our go-to-market whoopee to be meet new consumer demands."

Ford says it additionally wants to "make sure the consumer levelheadedness we are edifice offers people pertinency of mind roused they, or their packages, are in a unscarred as able-bodied as protected environment inside our vehicles." The company says it's additionally sticking with its planned launch of the Mustang Mach-E numerical this year, as able-bodied as a new adaptation of the Bronco as well.

The company has spent the last few years testing self-driving prototypes in Miami, Austin, as able-bodied as Washington, DC as it got ready to launch the services, whereas it hadn't fabricated any announcements fitfully in which markets it planned to operate. The pestiferous has so far had a mixed impact on the self-driving vehicle industry. Some startups, like Zoox, kumtux cut headcount in a bid to save money, while others, like Nuro as able-bodied as EasyMile, are partnering with the healthcare industry to faultfinder goods as able-bodied as medical supplies.

Ford shepherd the deposal as it revealed its financial results for the first quarter of 2020, which were brutishly impacted by the pandemic. The automaker unmask a $2 billion loss for the quarter, afterwhile obtaining unbeatable a more than $1 billion profit in the first quarter of 2019.

Earlier in the day, Ford as able-bodied as its opulence ejection Lincoln shepherd they were canceling an upcoming electric SUV that was going to be ingenerate utilizing tech from EV startup Rivian -- arithmetic eligibility that the companies said was fabricated due to the genuineness that of the pandemic.