Ford to offer Sync platform globally in 2010

LAS VEGAS, US: Ford Motor Co plans to introduce its Sync platform that connects mobile phones and digital music players using voice commands globally in 2010 starting with Europe, the automaker said on Thursday.

The Sync wireless system has been a surprise hit for Ford, helping to boost U.S. sales of the Focus compact car for the No. 2 U.S.-based automaker and appeal to younger buyers.

Sync, developed with Microsoft Corp, is a voice-command activated system that can be upgraded by the user. Ford said on Thursday it has a new agreement with Best Buy Co Inc to provide technical support for the system.

Ford and Microsoft introduced the Sync system at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in 2007 and Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally was expected to highlight some of the features of the next generation of the system in a speech on Thursday.

At the show on Wednesday, Ford said Sync would be capable of providing access to traffic alerts, directions and news without a built-in navigation system under new features that will be free for the first three years.

Ford, whose U.S. sales fell about 20 percent in 2008 as the economy faltered, has said Sync has proven to be a draw for new car buyers. Sync-equipped vehicles sell nearly twice as fast as those without it, executives said.

Ford posted $8.7 billion in losses through the first nine months of 2008 as the economic downturn pushed U.S. auto industry sales to the lowest level in 16 years.

The automaker has not sought emergency government funding, but has said that it would seek access to a $9 billion line of credit as insurance against an even deeper decline in the economy.

Sync is a $395 option on many Ford vehicles. The system was developed to allow for upgrades along the consumer electronics cycle where new products are introduced every few months, rather than the five-year vehicle production cycle.

Ford is also working on improving voice recognition for the interior systems that would make the interaction between the user and the controls more conversational.

Automakers are engaged in fierce competition to provide advanced electronics features to distinguish their vehicles, such as navigation and emergency assistance services.

Toyota Motor Corp plans to introduce an in-house developed onboard communications and navigation system in the U.S. market this year on some vehicles. That system includes features that would compete directly with General Motors Corp's market-leading OnStar service and Ford's Sync system.