Ford Pledges It Won't Sell Driver Data as Connected-Car Scrutiny Mounts

Ford Motor Company is promising customers it will not sell their driving data to outside data brokers, a public commitment the automaker is using to distinguish itself as connected vehicles draw intensifying legal and regulatory attention.

"It's been a journey for, frankly, most of the time I've been at Ford," she said.

Ford still intends to use vehicle data to improve safety and reliability, but it says owners will be able to dial their sharing preferences up or down.

General Motors agreed last week to pay $220 million to settle claims brought by 36 states that it improperly sold driver and location information to data brokers.

For investors, the pledge carries modest direct cost but meaningful regulatory optionality, since a documented public commitment gives enforcers a hook if practice diverges from promise.