Ford Ends Venture With Qualcomm

Ford Motor Co. pulled out of Wingcast, its venture with Qualcomm Inc. to produce telematics services in vehicles, the auto maker said.

The decision means Wingcast will be dissolved, according to Qualcomm, which owns 15% of the venture.

Wingcast’s 200 workers will lose their jobs.

Changing technology and customer desires were the main drivers behind Ford’s decision, the auto maker said.

Wingcast was based on cell phone technology. Ford is still exploring services based on a wireless transmitting standard called Bluetooth that lets a user’s cell phone interact with a vehicle’s electronics system using radio waves rather than wires, eliminating the need for costly on-board hardware or a separate service.

Ford had hoped to make Wingcast service available on 2003 models.