Ford taps Apple Maps to power its next-generation EVs

Apple announced Thursday a new software development kit, MapKit for Automotive, that lets automakers build Apple Maps navigation and mapping directly into their vehicles’ infotainment systems. Ford is the SDK’s first partner, and the integration will debut with its next-generation electric vehicles, starting with a $30,000 midsize truck arriving in 2027.

The truck is Ford’s biggest bet yet on affordable, tech-forward EVs. To build it, the company set aside its century-old manufacturing tradition and started from a universal EV platform, or UEV, that will also underpin a sedan, a crossover, a three-row SUV, and small commercial vans. Ford is pairing that hardware shift with single-piece aluminum unicastings — large components cast as one piece to cut parts count and speed assembly.

Apple Maps runs natively in the vehicle, separate from Apple CarPlay, which mirrors an iPhone’s apps onto the car’s display. The native integration gives Ford’s infotainment system EV-specific routing, turn-by-turn directions with natural-language guidance, real-time traffic and incident data, destination search, and detailed place information. It also enables battery preconditioning, which warms or cools the battery ahead of a charging stop to cut charge times, and could support smart-home features such as opening a garage door or turning on lights as a driver arrives home.

The mapping data will also feed Ford’s next-generation BlueCruise hands-free driver-assistance system, expected to roll out next year. The upgraded BlueCruise is designed to handle an entire highway journey, including on- and off-ramps — what Ford calls “point-to-point autonomy,” comparable to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) — before the company progresses to eyes-off driving in 2028.

MapKit for Automotive will be open to any automaker, but Ford is Apple’s first partner; the two companies signed a commercial agreement without disclosing its terms. Ford said the integration could also help its Ford Pro commercial-fleet business, for example by routing drivers to their next job site or showing other fleet vehicles on the map.

Why it matters

Embedding Apple’s mapping platform directly into a car — rather than relying on a mirrored phone screen — ties Ford’s driver-assistance roadmap to Apple’s software cadence and gives Apple a foothold in in-vehicle software beyond CarPlay.