GE And Ford Collaborate On Alternative Fuel Vehicle Adoption

GE announced on November 20 a collaboration with Ford Motor Co. in which the company will purchase 2,000 new Ford C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrids for its fleet. As part of the collaboration, Ford will jointly market GE’s alternative fuel infrastructure solutions to commercial customers and provide new alternative fuel vehicles for use at GE’s Vehicle Innovation Center.

The two companies will also collaborate with researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology on data collection and analysis on GE’s fleet in order to add even greater efficiencies to electric driving and charging.

For GE, the purchase of the 2,000 Ford C-MAX Energi vehicles is another step in the company’s commitment to converting half of its global fleet to alternative fuel vehicles as part of its commitment to sustainability. The addition of the Ford vehicles brings the number of alternative fuel vehicles in GE’s fleet to more than 5,000 toward its goal of 25,000 vehicles. To date, GE employees have driven approximately eighteen million miles in the company’s alternative fuel vehicles, saving about $2 million in gasoline costs and reducing CO2 emissions by approximately twelve million pounds. GE will begin integrating the Ford C-Max Energi into its fleet this month.

As part of the collaboration, Ford will promote GE’s WattStation charging station and CNG in a Box natural gas fueling station with its commercial customers. WattStation is an electric vehicle (EV) charger that decreases the time needed for vehicle charging. The system uses smart grid technology and comes with an app that helps customers more easily locate vehicle electricity sources. CNG In A Box is a fueling supply system offering plug and play simplicity for fleet and retail fueling stations seeking to offer CNG fuel.

Ford also will supply new alternative fuel vehicles for use at GE’s Vehicle Innovation Center at the headquarters of GE’s fleet management business in Eden Prairie, MN. The Center gives commercial customers the opportunity to learn about and test drive alternative fuel cars and trucks in a single location with assistance from their fleet, transportation, energy, and advanced technology experts. Ford already has placed its pure electric Focus at the center.

The two companies will also work with researchers at Georgia Tech to study GE employee driving and charging habits, with the goal of improving all-electric driving and charging performance.

Study findings will be shared with commercial customers to provide insights and help facilitate the deployment of electric vehicles in their own fleets amid a growing EV infrastructure that now includes more than 10,000 public charging stations across the country.

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