Ford Motor Co. is joining forces with Amazon Web Services Inc. to enable a worldwide cloud-based service for autonomous and connected vehicles of the future.

The two companies say they’re going to work together to create “innovative mobility services and differentiated customer experiences.” Neither company mentioned details of specific applications relating to the partnership, but they would presumably involve allowing connected vehicles to talk to each to warn about hazardous road conditions or heavy traffic, for example.

The deal centers on AWS hosting a Transportation Mobility Cloud created by Ford partner Autonomic LLC, which is designed to “connect vehicles, mass transit, pedestrians, city infrastructure and service providers.”

The initiative isn’t really a surprise, since Ford is one of several automakers spearheading the development of self-driving cars. The company has invested millions of dollars into its research, and last year won approval to begin testing its autonomous vehicle prototypes on the streets of Washington D.C. It also won permission to carry out similar tests in China in partnership with Baidu Inc.

The latest collaboration with AWS suggests that Ford is looking beyond simply creating autonomous vehicles and letting them loose on the roads.

The company said it’s hoping to develop “business opportunities for automakers, public transit operators, large-scale fleet operators, and software developers” as part of the initiative. The company added that although Autonomic and its TMC platform are owned by its subsidiary Ford Smart Mobility LLC, its partner is “brand agnostic,” which is an invitation for other car makers to adopt its services.

AWS clearly sees Ford as an important partner, as Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy took the opportunity to say he believes the deal will “help to reimagine the future of the automobile industry.”

Analyst Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. said the partnership was helpful for Ford as enterprises are increasingly reliant on cloud to create platforms for their next-generation applications.

“Car companies especially need to reserve their capital investment for building cars not data centers,” Mueller said. “Today it is Ford‘s turn to partner with AWS. But announcements are easy, delivering experience-changing apps is another thing and so we will have to see what the partnership will do to change driver and passenger experience.”

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