Why Ford is partnering with an online payment specialist
This page is translated from the original post "Pourquoi Ford s’associe à un spécialiste du paiement en ligne" in French.
- 19/01/2022 17:55
Car purchase, subscriptions, recharging… To expand in online commerce and services, Ford has entered into an agreement with Stripe, a startup specializing in payments.
Ford and Stripe announced on Monday a deal, symbolizing the upcoming industrial and commercial revolutions in the automotive market. One is a century-old manufacturer valued at $97 billion. The other is a startup, valued at $95 billion in March 2021, that is modernizing online payments and now physical payments. Their partnership foreshadows several fundamental trends in the automotive industry.
“We are excited to support Ford’s digital transformation.” Stripe commented on the agreement. “Since the pandemic, people have gotten used to buying everything online, and now expect to be able to purchase anything,” the company added.
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Focus on online commerce
Stripe aims to help Ford streamline payments and expand in online sales. Stripe’s services are expected to support recharging services, online services (set to develop), as well as online car reservation and ordering.
This partnership is expected to have industrial repercussions, enabling the manufacturer to produce increasingly more cars to order, thereby reducing inventories and costs.
Subscriptions instead of maintenance
Stripe’s payment services should finally enable Ford to develop subscription-based services. Recurring revenues will offset the reduction in maintenance costs for future 100% electric vehicles. Several manufacturers, for example, offer autonomous driving on subscription (Tesla, Volvo…), as well as connectivity and traffic info services. Some have offered Apple CarPlay on subscription (BMW), before reconsidering, while others offer their Matrix LED headlights monthly (Audi).
In summary, in the future, Ford customers will be able to order their car online, pay for internet connectivity, traffic info and online music services, and occasionally unlock certain options. Other manufacturers are likely to focus more on services soon.
The first effects of the Ford and Stripe agreement will materialize in North America in the second half of 2022, then will expand to Europe at a later stage.
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