Ford boss predicts car sharing boom

Ford's executive chairman, Bill Ford Jr, says that car makers must evolve beyond the traditional sales channels to meet diverging customer needs.

At the 2014 New York motor show to launch the Mustang 50 Year Limited Edition, Ford explained that car share and car rental companies will play an increasingly vital role for motorists needs, particularly in densely populated mega cities like New York.

He stated his own company would also need to evolve to make the best of the opportunities the trend creates.

"Today we define ourselves as a car company, but we know that particularly in urban centres around the world, mobility will look very different than it is today," he stated.

"We can't be locked into the current definition of who we are," he said, referring to the conventional private buyer's relationship with a car dealer.

Ford is embracing the notion that many motorists don't want, need or can garage a car 24/7. The great grandson of Ford motor company founder Henry Ford, he stated as car rental and sharing businesses increase in popularity in urban areas, car manufacturers will need to plan, respond to and even predict new car buying solutions.

Company's such as FlexiCar and GoGet are already gaining momentum with motorists in Australia, and faced with a future of road users who no longer see the need to own a car, Ford Jr is pragmatic.

"Rather than fight it, we need to embrace it and then anticipate future trends.

"Frankly, the whole notion of car ownership, particularly in urban areas, has been disrupted by Zip Car, Uber, by Car Lift -- all those kinds of [car rental/sharing] companies. And there will be many more like that to come along," he said.

The rise in popularity of company's like FlexiCar is the result of high running costs, such as annual car registration, a lack of parking in heavily populated cities and "dense driving patterns and gridlock" said Ford Jr.