Ford Plug-in Hybrid Electric Cars

Ford Motor Company unveiled an aggressive plan for delivering a suite of new plug-in hybrid electric cars to the market. Some of the electric vehicles include a pure battery Transit Connect commercial van and a series of next-generation hybrid cars. The announcement came after Ford was approved for the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program by the U.S. Department of Energy.

"This green partnership between Ford and the U.S. government will help accelerate the development of advanced technologies for even better fuel efficiency and emissions," Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement. Ford plans to invest nearly $14 billion in advanced technology vehicles during the next seven years. The green partnership with the Department of Energy will also help the automaker retool its plans to produce fuel efficient vehicles that meet new requirements.

While Ford has an aggressive plan for the commercial market, it is also developing new hybrid electric systems. Ford is now in its fifth year producing the world's most fuel-efficient SUV, the Escape Hybrid, and added the Ford Fusion earlier this year. The Fusion is still the most fuel-efficient midsize car in the market.

However, the automaker plans to expand its line of hybrid cars by offering different levels of electric vehicles. For example, Ford is already working on a three-year program to test the new Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). This plan will evaluate technical approaches for integrating PHEVs into the electric grid.

Ford, in collaboration with 10 utilities and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), are currently testing the Ford Escape PHEV. The utilities are collecting data on battery technology, vehicle systems, and the grid infrastructure. The automaker plans to introduce several PHEVs in 2012.

The future for hybrid cars does seem to be heading towards plug-in technologies. The automaker will launch two pure battery electric vehicles (BEV) during the next two years. The BEV Transit Connect will be available in 2010 and the BEV Focus will launch in 2011.

The new battery electric cars are expected to have a range of 100 miles. These vehicles also will reduce operation and maintenance costs for the consumer. It will take about eight hours to fully charge the new plug-in automobiles.

Technologies that go into hybrid cars are advancing fast. The market does seem to be leaning towards plug-in electric car solutions. This not only will help reduce our dependency for foreign oil, but will help clean our environment at the same time.

Source : NewsOXY, by Andy Hodges, June 24th, 2009