DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is postponing its autonomous vehicle commercial services until 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic and could ultimately change what services it offers once the crisis passes.
Ford previously planned to launch self-driving vehicles for commercial use, such as package delivery, at some point in 2021. The company, in partnership with startup Argo A.I., has been testing autonomous vehicles in Miami, Detroit, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh, Palo Alto, Calif., and Austin, Texas. It had announced Washington, D.C., Austin and Miami would be launch markets.
It has been testing a number of customer-focused initiatives, including piloting autonomous pizza delivery with Domino’s and package delivery through Postmates and Walmart.
“Given the challenges of the current business environment, as well as the need to evaluate the long-term impact of COVID-19 on customer behaviors, Ford made the decision to shift the launch of its self-driving services to 2022,” Ford said in a…
