Ford first launched SYNC in North America six years ago. Developed jointly with Microsoft, this in-car connectivity system will debut in India with the EcoSport in the coming weeks. Drivers can connect their cell phones via Bluetooth or USB using this hands-free technology.
“We are very excited, and the research we do in India and throughout Asia-Pacific shows very clearly that people want to be more connected,” Rodney Phillips, SYNC Engineering Manager for Ford Asia-Pacific, told Business Line in a telephonic interview from Goa. Based in Nanjing, China, he was in India recently for the EcoSport drive.
“You look at the styles of smartphones and tablets and the picture that clearly emerges is that people want to use them while in their vehicles,” Phillips said.
What Ford is aiming to offer with SYNC is provide enough access to key features that are relevant while driving a car. “I think the product we are offering fits in with the customer base that is comfortable with technology, and that is advantageous for us,” he added.
According to Phillips, India is important for products such as SYNC as customers here are more “tech-savvy than anywhere we go, with people involved in IT and technology on the whole.” It is, therefore, important to give them the right connectivity, he added.
Specific customers
Ford clearly believes there is tremendous scope for new technologies in this function. There are “exciting plans” under way in the laboratory and the coming months will see some new developments. “SYNC as a platform offers us the capabilities of doing many more things and the future will see more value offered to our customers,” Phillips said.
There are, of course, a number of elements in technology which need to be tailored to specific customers. China, for instance, predominantly speaks Mandarin and needed to have a unique language development process. In India, on the other hand, English is a “strong language which means we could build on the platforms we have.”
Equally, similarities also exist between countries and this is where Ford’s global platform strategy becomes relevant. “There are elements in products which need to be tuned and adjusted for best possible functions,” Phillips said.
From Ford’s viewpoint, SYNC is a global platform for connectivity which it wants to make available in other markets. For the India initiative, the company worked hard with local and global suppliers to make sure that what is being produced is compatible with customer expectations.
Phillips said Indian engineers are used to conducting a exhaustive test work and there is a possibility of greater involvement with them, just as is the case in other regions.
“We are aware of India’s capability in technology and are realising that it is a market which is very involved in IT/software development,” he added.