Traffic and navigation solutions provider TomTom has secured a global multi-year contract from Ford to power its next-generation SYNC connected vehicle technology with its real-time traffic service.

Ford announced that its new 2021 F-150, as well as its all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV, expected to be launched soon, will feature SYNC connected vehicle technology.

Enterprise Connectivity executive director Stuart Taylor said: “The all-new F-150 is Ford’s flagship and the Mustang Mach-E is one of the industry’s most exciting vehicles this year. Both are leading the next automotive revolution of connected vehicles.

“Their next-generation SYNC technologies have twice the computing power of the previous-generation system to do much more, including real-time, smartphone-like mapping that can help you adjust on the fly to quicker routes based on their network of millions of connected devices.”

Under the agreement, TomTom has agreed to offer real-time traffic information through TomTom Traffic to Ford drivers. This is said to enable them to make informed decisions to reduce their travel time.

TomTom explained that its traffic service has been designed to process more than 70 million driving hours a day, derived from billions of de-identified data points. Its big data is updated every 30 seconds, allowing TomTom to predict traffic movements.

TomTom Automotive managing director Antoine Saucier said: “Automakers choose TomTom Traffic for its accuracy, freshness and reliability.

“Ford’s decision to include TomTom Traffic in its new SYNC connected vehicle technology is another step towards our vision of a world free of congestion.”

Currently, TomTom offers its real-time traffic service in 79 countries across the world and is said to be powered by more than 600 million connected devices.