Ford partners with What3words to offer precise navigation

Ford has joined forces with geocoding start-up What3words to offer its drivers in North America and Europe with more precise navigation. What3words, a global addressing system, divides the world into a grid of 3m x 3m squares and assigns each a three-word address made up dictionary words. Ford says its drivers will be able to enter destinations by voice or text for any location, including destinations without an address. Ford drivers will be able to connect the company’s SYNC 3 infotainment plat
February 27, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
278 Ford has joined forces with geocoding start-up What3words to offer its drivers in North America and Europe with more precise navigation.


What3words, a global addressing system, divides the world into a grid of 3m x 3m squares and assigns each a three-word address made up dictionary words.

Ford says its drivers will be able to enter destinations by voice or text for any location, including destinations without an address.  

Ford drivers will be able to connect the company’s SYNC 3 infotainment platform with the Whats3words app, available on iOS and Android devices. They can then input a three word address to navigate to a precise 3m x 3m square.

Don Butler, executive director, connected vehicle platform and product, at Ford, says the solution can be used by commercial vehicle drivers working from a mobile office and those driving for leisure.

What3words is available for Ford drivers in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Spain, the US and Mexico. More locations are expected to follow later this year.

Location Based Systems

Related Content

  • December 19, 2017
    Inrix informs FHWA’s data improvements
    Refinements in the data available from the US Federal Highway Administration will improve road management across America. David Crawford reports. In August 2017, the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued the first results from an upgraded version of its National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS). Developed to identify the locations and times of high congestion affecting traffic flows along America’s 259,000km (161,000 mile) national highway system, this is a key resource for sta
    Read More
  • January 19, 2012
    Connected Vehicles test vehicle to vehicle applications
    In the US, the ITS Joint Program Office is about to conduct a series of Driver Clinics intended to gauge public reaction to Connected Vehicle safety technologies and applications. Starting in August, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) will test Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) applications with everyday drivers in what it describes as 'normal operational scenarios'. These Driver Clinics are being carried out at six locations across the US and together with the subsequent model deployment beginning in 2012,
    Read More
  • May 27, 2014
    Is the smartphone a driver's best friend?
    The smartphone is a driver’s best friend – or so it seems: apps help them navigate, avoid congestion, identify a parking space, locate an EV charge point, find the area’s cheapest fuel, check the weather, pay tolls … the list goes on. While some have voice actuation, the whole issue of driver-related apps still concerns me. The World Health Organisation / National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSA) report Mobile Phone Use: A Growing Problem of Driver Distraction says: ‘…studies suggest that driver
    Read More
  • November 27, 2020
    Global mobility study: world on the move
    ERF reviews impact of new mobility on road infrastructure in 20 countries pre-Covid
    Read More

Highlighted Content