Multinational automaker giant Ford Motors recently opened its new research and innovation center in Silicon Valley and plans to develop new ideas for connected and autonomous vehicles.

Ford President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields said the company intends to position itself in the high-tech ecosystem.

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The Silicon Valley-based research and innovation center will focus on the intersection between automotive advances and computing areas such as mobility, consumer electronics and big data, among others.

"Innovation for us is very meaningful because it's in our DNA, in the legacy of Henry Ford. Innovation is why a lot of us joined the company in the first place," said Fields.

"We want to be viewed as part of the ecosystem in Silicon Valley. The Research and Innovation Center is another proof point of what we're doing and in a year, we will be one of the largest, dedicated automotive research teams here in the valley."

Dragos Maciuca will lead Ford's new research center. He is an engineer and former employee of Apple with experience in product development, consumer tech and semiconductor manufacturing.

Reports said the car maker plans to expand its staff to 125 researchers, engineers and scientists by the end of this year.

"If you give folks very meaningful work, that not only attracts folks but it retains them. And if you think about some of the advancements made in automotive and computing in the last five years, it blows your mind," said Fields.

Ford also has other research centers in Dearborn, Michigan and Aachen, Germany. These centers focus on advanced electronics, materials science and driver assistance technologies, among others.

TagsFord, Research and Innovation Center, Connected Cars, Autonomous Cars, Consumer Electronics, Big Data, Mobility, Interface Development