How Ford Pro plans to help fleets run better in 2026

Ford’s commercial sales unit, Ford Pro, has worked to build connectivity between its customers and their vehicles, with the Ford Pro team monitoring it all back at the division’s headquarters. 

Just last year, the division celebrated 40% growth in Ford Pro connected vehicles in just two years. These connected vehicles pump out millions of data points that the team analyzes to improve Ford Pro customer operations. Ford Pro anticipates that growth will continue in 2026.

One of Ford Pro’s larger focuses is on maintenance and uptime. Travis Hunt, GM for Ford Pro Parts and Service Transformation, believes this year will usher in a more connected, seamless service strategy for Ford Pro customers.

Prediction: A zero-downtime service ecosystem

Ford Pro predicts that, in 2026, the four- to six-hour service window will be a thing of the past, thanks to service shops evolving into “connected service hubs.”

Using machine learning and predictive analytics, Ford Pro service centers will shift “the repair window for routine maintenance from ‘whenever the service shop is open’ to ‘whenever the vehicle is idle,’” Hunt told FleetOwner.

The data from the vehicle will enable Ford Pro service centers to handle vehicles as IT systems, combing through the data to discover what needs attention before a breakdown. If a repair is necessary, Ford Pro will enable “automated alerts and digital work orders,” Hunt said, giving time back to fleet managers and facilitating repairs when work won’t be interrupted.

“Rather than repairs stopping operations, Ford Pro Intelligence monitors fleet health while vehicles are on the road,” Hunt explained. “Customers, dealers, and Ford Pro see the same data in real time, so everyone is working from a single source of truth. That shared visibility allows us to get ahead of issues and pre-stage parts and service needs at the shop before the vehicle arrives.”

Hunt said this process can save up to three hours per repair. 

All in all, this connectivity between all parties provides a seamless service ecosystem.

Prediction: 2026 will see the death of passive data 

The amount of data fleets create can be overwhelming. Yet fleets that make decisions based on data can see multiple benefits in efficiency gains and cost savings. The problem lies in turning that data into actionable insights.

In 2026, Ford Pro-connected vehicles will benefit from the Ford Pro Intelligence team’s ability to “convert raw data into evidence-based decisions for predictable uptime and lower costs,” according to Ford.

Ford Pro Intelligence will float these actionable insights to the fleet manager’s dashboard, allowing them to see “fault alerts, maintenance recommendations, scheduling prompts, and optimization opportunities without requiring [them] to manually interpret raw numbers,” Hunt said.

Currently, Ford Pro Telematics offers similar insights to drivers via in-vehicle coaching. Fleets using this feature have so far seen 25% fewer speeding events, 16% less hard braking, 11% less hard acceleration, and 52% lower excessive idle minutes per trip, Hunt said. This is just one example of how Ford Pro uses data to help fleets save on fuel usage and decrease the wear and tear on their assets.

Prediction: The bridge from physical to digital will form in 2026

Where much of the industry currently services assets in a reactive way—sending vehicles to be repaired after work is interrupted—Ford Pro believes it can help its customers shift to proactive maintenance through “coordinated action.”

Each of Ford Pro’s 2026 predictions is supported by the seamless ecosystem Ford Pro creates when connecting vehicles to its platform. As a result, this connectivity bridges the physical asset to the digital data.

Ford believes “this bridge from physical to digital creates a unified, end-to-end maintenance environment where vehicles ‘talk’ to the ecosystem, service is triggered proactively, and decision-making is driven by insights instead of guesswork.”

This connectivity is already available for many fleets, as Ford vehicles that are model year 2020 and newer are embedded with connectivity capabilities, and non-Ford or older vehicles are able to connect to the system using a plug-in device, Hunt said.

Once these vehicles are connected, fleet managers experience a service system that automates workflows, offers in-vehicle coaching, and makes suggestions based on real-time vehicle data. When it’s time for maintenance, the Ford Pro Intelligence team monitors every step from “behind the scenes—making sure diagnostics are ready, parts are on hand, and work is sequenced efficiently,” Hunt said. He calls this function the “guardian angel” of commercial fleet management.

While all of the above encompass Ford Pro’s predictions for the upcoming year, these features are already available to Ford Pro customers—the prediction is that they will gain more traction as more fleets experience Ford Pro’s seamless ecosystem.

“Feedback has been positive, with proven reductions in repair time, significant improvements in driver behavior and idling, and high satisfaction with Ford Pro Mobile Service,” Hunt explained. “Fleet managers are choosing the Ford Pro ecosystem because it helps simplify operations and boost uptime. … We’re accelerating a move toward proactive, connected, turnkey fleet management.”