Bill Ford: Today's Transportation Model “Not Sustainable”

The notion of a car for everyone is not a sustainable transportation option, says Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford Jr.

He writes in The Wall Street Journal that the auto industry will go through a "radical transformation" in the next 20 years as the world weans itself from its historical base of personal ownership of personal transportation.

Ford says the change is being driven by the collision of two global trends. First is the possibility that the number of vehicles on the road worldwide could surpass 2 billion by 2050. The second trend will see more than half the world's population living in urban areas by then.

The combination of the two will overwhelm the ability of urban infrastructures to handle so many privately owned vehicles, Ford writes. He notes that the rise of car- and ride-sharing companies such as Zipcar and Uber shows that traditional ownership isn't always the most cost-effective way gain access to a car, especially in cities.

Ford, who has frequently spoken in recent years about the auto industry's inevitable overhaul, foresees a $130 billion business opportunity for carmakers willing to turn themselves into "personal mobility" providers. He says such companies will view the vehicles they make as "mobile communications platforms" that are part of a broader network of interacting transportation options.