Ford Electric Vehicles Plan On Track

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Ford’s commitment to extend its global electrified vehicles strategy will see the introduction of a full battery-electric Ford Transit Connect in 2011, and a battery-electric derivative of the next-generation Ford Focus, due in 2012.

Ford’s Valencia Plant in Spain will build the company’s first hybrid models for European customers with two advanced technology derivatives of the all-new five-seat Ford C-MAX compact multi-activity model to be launched in 2013 – a full hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). The fifth vehicle will also be a next-generation hybrid-electric model and will be announced at a later time.

"Our plan to deliver five electrified Ford vehicles as promised is well underway, which is great news for our customers both here in Europe and in North America," said Stephen Odell, Chairman and CEO of Ford of Europe today at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. "The new advanced powertrain technologies we are applying progressively across our entire portfolio further strengthen Ford’s commitment to delivering significant fuel economy improvements and reduced CO2 emissions to meet our customers’ functional needs without compromising their driving experience."

While North America continues to be the dominant market for hybrid sales, European interest in the segment is rising. According to R.L. Polk & Company, a leading auto industry market research firm, European hybrid vehicle sales are projected to double between 2010 and 2012. Other researchers project worldwide hybrid sales to top 6 million units per year by 2020, with the volume leaders being the U.S., Europe, and China.

"Due to the increasing customer interest in Europe for electrified versions of our vehicles, we are stepping up our efforts to bring these models to market alongside our latest-generation, fuel-efficient EcoBoost petrol and Duratorq diesel models," Odell added. "European consumers soon will have an even greater range of electric alternatives from Ford."

Ford’s battery electric vehicles are expected to offer fleet customers lower cost of operation, because recharging with electricity is generally less expensive than refuelling with petrol. Users may also benefit from much lower maintenance costs over the life of the vehicle.