Ford Motor Company (F) Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference 2026 summary

Evolution of digital services strategy

• Shifted from siloed products to a connected system, enhancing customer value and cohesion.

• Focus on integrating hardware and software, emphasizing four customer interaction pillars: build, thrill, adventure, and elevate.

• Leveraged growing active customer base and app engagement to improve vehicle health data usage.

• Emphasis on building unique, engaging digital experiences that complement beloved vehicle models.

Flywheel and customer engagement

• Flywheel model includes scale, activate, engage, and monetize, compounding value over time.

• Early activation and usage of digital features at dealerships drive higher long-term engagement.

• Engagement is tracked as a leading metric, with OTA updates keeping products fresh.

• Strong correlation between early feature use and customer retention; dealer training is key.

Monetization and business model

• Monetization includes direct digital product sales and indirect revenue from service alerts.

• 1.6 million paid digital subscribers, with 200,000 BlueCruise customers growing 170% YoY.

• BlueCruise subscriber base reached 530,000, up 40% YoY, indicating strong product-market fit.

• Software is increasingly a decisive factor in vehicle purchases, especially for fleet customers.