Ford Pumps $1.8 Billion Into China to Sell Cars to the Smartphone Generation

Ford says it's investing $1.8 billion over the next five years to research how to more deeply integrate smartphones into the everyday driving experience. The company will also use this money to research other automotive technology like autonomous driving.

Although Ford was light on specifics, it suggests that drivers might be able to use their smartphone to control some car systems, like entertainment and climate control. The company's cars will also support a popular mobile messaging platform known as QQ, which is created by Chinese internet company Tencent.

And yes, that's the same Tencent that's backing Didi Kuaidi, a homegrown competitor to Uber.

Ford's immediate interest in expanding in-car smartphone connectivity is to boost sales in China: the company five years ago committed $5 billion to expand into China, which company executives called a "very big growth market." Despite the massive investment, new car sales in China are slowing down, having declined 3.4 percent in August compared to a year ago.

Ford's comments are even more interesting when considered in the context of where the entire automotive industry may be heading: if companies like Uber and Google have their way, the idea of car ownership may seem decidedly quaint: why own a car when you can merely summon one on demand?