In a twist of irony, Ford is placing its new techy teams into an old factory located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. The factory is over a hundred years old and will now house the wave of Ford’s cutting-edge future by placing electric vehicle and self-driving groups within the building, which apparently dates back to in-and-around the date the very first car started driving on roads.

The old factory has been used by a variety of companies over the years and will offer Ford staff the workspace they need, as well as provide them with the opportunity to dive into mobility and lifestyle challenges of an urban area (as per a press release).
Detroit News recently revealed that Ford believes that as EV and autonomous cars are currently being pursued with urban environments in mind, placing these teams in Corktown, which is not that far away from Detroit’s downtown area, with offer them the insight on city dwelling and transportation.

Interestingly enough, Corktown is also the area where Michigan Central Station resides; an old train station that that Ford was interested in buying to house its EV and self-driving teams – this according to past reports. There was no mention around the train station by Ford in regards this current development.

Ford’s current electric-car group, referred to as “Team Edison”, honoring the friend and inventor of Henry Ford, has the big task of launching six fully-electric models for 2022. Ford has only provided details on one of these models, an electric sports utility vehicle (SUV), which Ford states is inspired by their Mustang. The company is seemingly focusing on hybrids currently, with plans in the works to provide hybrid versions of the F-150, Explorer, Bronco, Escape, and of course, the Mustang.

Ford has said in the past that it plans to launch a purpose-build autonomous-driving vehicle in 2021, which will have a hybrid powertrain, with no manual controls. The auto is designed for fleet use, ride-hailing and delivery services in mind. Ford is testing around logistics for a self-driving fleet via a pilot program right now in Miami Florida.