Ford CEO Mark Fields reiterated that the company is not looking to merge with Fiat Chrysler in San Francisco this week.

Ford Motor Co. won’t be engaging in any kind of tie up with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, Ford Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields said this week.

Responding to questions from reporters at the annual “Further With Ford” conference, Fields said Ford wasn’t interested in a merger with anyone and instead will continue to follow the course laid out in the “One Ford Plan” that Ford adopted following a financial crisis nearly 10 years ago.

“We have no interest or plan other than accelerating the One Ford Plan; delivering product excellence and driving innovation in every part of our business,” Fields said. “We are never going to take our eye off of being a great developer of cars, trucks and utility vehicles.”

FCA boss Sergio Marchionne pitched several CEOs on the idea of a merger, perhaps most notably General Motors. At this point, all have declined his overtures. Marchionne believes the auto industry needs to consolidate because in its current state, it requires too much capital investment for duplicate efforts and ultimately it will be the undoing of some makers.

Fields added that while Ford isn’t interested in a merger, it will take a long hard look at its overall business model.

“It’s very important for us to open up that lens on how we look at the business. We want to lead,” he said.

Fields said Ford Smart Mobility is the company’s plan to deliver the next level in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience and big data. Ford introduced the plan in January, along with 25 experiments aimed at better understanding consumers’ mobility needs around the globe.

(Ford using technology to solve commuting problem: parking. For more, Click Here.)

The company’s new research and development center in Palo Alto, California, will be among the largest operated in Silicon Valley by a global auto maker. Ford currently has about 60 employees in the Palo Alto development center and that number is expected to grow to 125 by the end of the year.

Mercedes-Benz has the largest research and development center in Silicon Valley. The Mercedes center has more than 200 employees working on connectivity and autonomous driving projects.

When it is fully staffed the Ford technical centers outside San Francisco will be about the same size as the one maintained by the Volkswagen Group, which has employees from both the Volkswagen and Audi brands, based outside of San Francisco.

Silicon Valley is also the home of several major tech companies, such as Google and Apple, that have had enormous influence on the automobile business and Ford highlighted its partnerships with both Hewlett Packard (HP) and SAP, the developer of business software solutions, during the conference.

(Click Here for details about Ford’s introduction of its Smart Mobility plan.)

Meg Whitman, Hewlett Packard’s chief executive officer, said HP and Ford have had an excellent relationship that goes back years. In fact, HP uses Ford products exclusively in its own fleet, which now numbers 4,000 vehicles that are used by executives, sales personnel and the company tech support unit.

Ford and HP, however, are also working on data-driven projects that weren’t even possible five years ago. Three-dimensional printing also promises to have a major impact on manufacturing, according HP vice president Tim Weber.

“It’s not going to be just for rapid prototyping. You’ll be able to change the physical properties of different parts,” he said.

SAP, with skill in developing business software, is working on various projects, including an automotive oriented system for paying for various services important to motorists such as refueling and parking that could operate from a vehicles infotainment screen or through a phone app.

(To see more about Mini going Maxi with new Clubman, Click Here.)

The projects have the potential of creating new business opportunities for Ford and other automakers, according to SAP representatives.