Ford is positioning its dealer network as a critical part of its push to generate more revenue from software, connected services and the aftermarket, according to Mike Aragon, Ford’s president of integrated services.
The details: Aragon—speaking at Morgan Stanley’s 14th Annual Laguna Conference on Sept. 17—said Ford is still early in the process of turning software and services into a larger business, but the metrics show the company is making major strides toward that goal.
The automaker now reports 1.6 million paid subscribers across its integrated services business.
BlueCruise has 530,000 paying subscribers, up 40% year over year, with post-trial subscribers reaching 200,000, up 170% year over year.
Blended average revenue per user across its fleet-focused Ford Pro and retail services is $14 a month, with contribution margins above 50%.
Ford Pro Intelligence—a $10 monthly subscription for telematics and predictive maintenance software—has 900,000 subscribers and is growing.
“That software is going to be able to tell us and our customers, ’Hey, you’ve got a brake issue that’s coming up,’ flag it to you, schedule that brakes and service part, make sure that part’s available at the dealer, and then fix it for them,” said Aragon, per Investing.com. “What you’ve effectively done is you’ve taken a $10 ARPU product per month and turned it into hundreds of dollars of aftermarket sales and service opportunities.”
Digging deeper: Moving forward, Ford is aiming to build a tighter link between hardware, software, and service while moving away from a business model that depends on multiple external suppliers for key systems, as the company continues to expand its software and services business.
The automaker is developing a proprietary electrical architecture and ADAS system in-house, which will debut with Ford Fathom next year.
Ford plans to deploy the architecture—which is designed to work across gas, hybrid, and electric vehicles—across 90% of its vehicle fleet by 2030.
Expansion plans for BlueCruise include potentially adding point-to-point and eyes-off functions over the next two to three years.
Ford is also in the early stages of building its energy storage and enterprise AI businesses.
Why it matters: Ford’s growing software subscriber base could translate into more than recurring digital revenue, with predictive maintenance and connected services potentially funneling customers directly into dealer service departments for repairs, parts, and other aftermarket work.
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Between the lines: Dealers are central to Ford’s software and services strategy, serving as the front line for activating features, building service relationships, and educating customers.
Aragon said he spends more than two days a month with dealers.
Ford is scaling dealer education through technology-based training and building tools to support feature activation at vehicle delivery and service onboarding.
The company is also investing in dealer compensation and support, positioning dealers as customer educators—not just distribution points.
The dealer role is especially important for autonomy features, where customers need to experience the technology in person, explained Aragon.
"…I’ve seen and been in a lot of Gembas where the salesperson’s telling, ’Go ahead, take your hands off the wheel.’… They do it, and there’s an aha moment there. The best way to scale those aha moments, you can’t do them on a YouTube video. You’ve got to do it in real life. Our dealers are best equipped to do that," said Aragon, per Investing.com.
Bottom line: Ford is building a software and services business designed to extend the customer relationship beyond the initial vehicle sale, with dealers positioned to turn connected features and predictive maintenance into recurring service and aftermarket opportunities while helping drive adoption of the technology itself.
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