DETROIT, Michigan: Ford Motor Co. and ADT, through a new joint venture called Canopy, are introducing two new vehicle security packages, with the first being for truck and van owners who use their vehicles for business, and the second for SUV and car owners.

The antitheft technology will first enter the market early next year as an accessory sold through Ford, Amazon.com, big box stores and other retailers. It will detect credible threats using newly installed camera hardware, artificial intelligence and a mobile smartphone app that alerts vehicle owners, along with the capability of contacting the police.

The technology can also monitor new and used commercial trucks and vans of other makes and models, besides Ford.

The kit utilizes professional ADT monitoring with live agents and is available through subscription. This accessory will not integrate with vehicle cameras and systems. Customers can also control the system, monitor video via livestream and receive threat alerts through a smartphone app.

Vehicle owners can sign up to be notified of suspicious activity or monitor livestream video themselves.

The company said the technology will eventually be available to be installed in more new and used trucks and vans, while expanding to new and used SUVs and sedans, not just Ford products.

Ford and ADT announced their new security campaign and the launch of Canopy this week.

Canopy, which will have offices in Detroit and London, aims to build and sell its first vehicle accessory product and subscription service for trucks and vans in the U.S. and the UK.

Elliot Cohen, ADT senior vice president and chief business development officer, told the Detroit Free Press, "We are really excited to announce two industry pioneers coming together."

Car and Driver magazine reported in October that Ford and Chevy pickups were the most stolen vehicles in 2020.

"Auto thefts have been on the rise during the pandemic. We see this as a very timely problem. We have two industry pioneers and, again, some amazing technology that Ford's been incubating for the last two years, marrying up what ADT has been doing for decades," Cohen added.

"We are going to transform from a carmaker to an 'always on the relationship between the brand and the customers'," said Franck Louis-Victor, vice president of Ford's New Businesses Platform Team.