Addressing the Dubai Chamber today (19th November) on the future of mobility and Ford’s Blueprint for Mobility, he said: ‘With new technology, we are improving fuel economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our products. And I believe that in my lifetime, we will have truly clean transportation.

‘We are developing alternative powertrains that will make cars affordable in every sense of the word – economically, socially and environmentally.’

However he warned that the world faces global gridlock on a scale never seen before, severely compromising quality of life if not addressed.

He added: ‘The answer is not more of the same. My great-grandfather once said that before he invented the Model T, “If I had asked people then what they wanted, they would have answered ‘faster horses.’”

‘Today we need that same leap in thinking to preserve mobility worldwide. The answer is not more roads. A recent headline in the Gulf News summed it up: “Congestion needs out of the box solutions.”

‘You may have heard the term “smart cars”. Cars and trucks today are being built with increasingly more powerful microprocessors. You see the technology when you get behind the wheel of a new vehicle. We are equipping cars and trucks with new technologies that improve the driving experience, guide you to your destination, manage the car’s functions and keep you and your passengers entertained.

‘So we are building smart cars, and they will continue to get smarter. But we also need to build smart roads, smart parking, smart public transportation systems and more – and we need to connect them all using wireless telecommunications. Why? Because when you link the vehicle to the world around it, you begin to attack global gridlock.

‘To keep traffic moving, we need an integrated transportation network that uses real time data to optimize personal mobility on a massive scale.

‘The era of the “connected car” already has begun, as we equip vehicles with high-speed wireless connectivity. But imagine what is possible when our cars begin talking to each other and the roadways and networks around them. The systems that we use today to bring entertainment into the vehicle and help us with directions are the same systems that will help us create a smart vehicle network.

‘If our cars could talk to other cars and connect with the network of roads, things change quickly. If a truck ahead of you on the highway hits slow traffic: your car is immediately alerted and told to reroute itself.

‘Or what if there is a pothole in the road ahead? Your car could be warned and you could steer clear, eliminating the potential for damage. At the same time, the information is passed to road maintenance officials and a repair crew is dispatched. Delays are avoided and problems are fixed in less time.

‘The potential benefits from vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure connectivity are tremendous as the automobile becomes better integrated into the broader transportation system.’

He also said that what defines car “ownership” or, rather, “access” to a vehicle will change, too, explaining: ‘In congested urban environments, we will see more peer-to-peer applications and “on demand” transportation networks. Here in the Middle East, on-demand services like Uber are taking off in Dubai and other cities. People are looking at new ways to get where they need to go as quickly and efficiently as possible.

‘Finally, the act of driving itself will change. “Autonomous” driving, vehicles that drive themselves, will help reduce traffic delays. This technology will also improve road safety; a significant issue here in the Middle East.’

And Mr Ford said that connected cars could help solve broader issues such as public health or economic opportunity and can help strengthen a country’s infrastructure, explaining: ‘For example, in developing nations that do not have accurate mapping of their own roadways, vehicles that transport rural medical aid can be equipped with sensors to map the rural roads as they drive.’

He finished by saying that autonomous driving can also help deal with issues of the future, such as ageing populations, concluding: ‘As technology quickly evolves, we must push ourselves to look for new opportunities to solve bigger issues. This is the next challenge before us. We must find ways that mobility can improve the human condition.’