Ford outlines hybrid future

Ford will debut a range of hybrids and optimised conventional-engined passenger cars and SUVs, plus a limited number of battery electric vehicles over the next decade or so -- with more exotic fuel cell and other EVs destined only for very long term roll out. That's the upshot of the American giant's latest green vehicle briefings attended by the Carsales Network in Detroit this week.

Conducted ahead of the press debut of the all-new Focus, the briefings exposed Australian and other media to Ford's new hybrid C-Max models including the plug-in hybrid C-Max Energi and the company's first production EV, the Focus Electric.

No drives of the electrified Fords were offered, however, company spokespeople outlined plans for the US roll out of the various technologies and Ford's long term view of the greening of the automobile.

Alas for Australian car buyers there was no news on the availability of the high-tech Fords Down Under. Though Ford will begin sales of the Focus Electric and C-Max hybrids later this year and into 2012, Europe will be the next market in which the models debut. That market will see a 2012-13 roll out but at this stage no firm plans are in place to sell the high-tech models in Australia.

Initially the cars will be built in Ford's Wayne Michigan plant alongside conventional Focus and C-Max models. In 2013 European production will commence in Spain. No announcements have been made whether Ford's new facilities in Thailand will be earmarked for electric production.

Ford Australia spokesperson, Sinead McAlary, said that while the electric C-segment cars were on its wishlist, the carmaker is still formulating its electrification plans for other markets including Australia

"Hybrids are very important to have in the market both as offerings for our customers and as brand builders," Ford Australia Public Affairs director, Sinead McAlary, told the Carsales Network.

"We are definitely working with our Asia Pacific and Africa [regional] colleagues to develop a strategy for this region. It's too soon to be specific on timing or models but it's definitely on the agenda for Ford Australia."

Internationally, Ford's electrification strategy will consist of a mix of full hybrid (HEV), plug-in hybrid models (PHEV) and pure EVs. No plans were discussed or outlined for the roll out of exotic EVs such as fuel cell vehicles.

Claiming to be the world's second largest producer of "full hybrids" (after Toyota -- Ford categorises Honda IMA-equipped Civic and CR-Z as 'mild hybrids'), the company suggests ‘conventional’ electrified models will consist of between 10-25 per cent of its production by volume by 2020.

Ford has christened its strategy 'The Power of Choice'.

“One technology does not work for all customers – hybrids, plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles each offer distinctly different advantages. By leveraging our global platforms, we are able to offer our customers more choices of electrified solutions as part of a fuel-efficient product lineup," Ford global development boss Derek Kuzak told the media at Detroit thereby setting the scene for our visit.

Said Ford's Electrified Vehicle Planning Manager Chris Pick this week, the company is "building off consumers’ choice".

"We will offer a number, of actions and levels of electrification across a range of vehicles, Pick explained.

"Currently electrified vehicles account for less than one per cent of our volume. By 2015 they will be between two and five per cent, and in 2020 that proportion will increase to between 10-25 per cent, we estimate."

According to Pick, at the end of the decade conventional HEVs will account for 70 per cent of Ford's electrified vehicle volume. PHEVs could be as higher than 25 per cent, while pure electric cars will be a maximum of five per cent of the fleet.

Pick says the cost of battery technology will handicap a wider rollout of PHEVs.

He contends the cost of a battery for a plug-in hybrid is an order of magnitude higher than that required for a conventional hybrid. This creates a barrier for consumers says the Ford exec -- hence the tiered product offering.

Ford fleshed out its 'Power of Choice' strategy at the recent Detroit motor show with three ready for production models and showed them again at this week's workshop.

The most important drivetrains (according to Pick's above projected landscape) -- hybrid and plug-in hybrid -- were incongruously shown in an unproven (in the US) model/vehicle format, the C-Max MPV. [Ed: Focus too will offer a hybrid option quick smart we reckon]. Built on Ford's new C-segment platform, the C-Max is a highboy five-seater that, while popular in Europe, is yet to prove its worth in the USA. At this stage Ford Australia has not announced plans to add C-Max to its local line-up -- even in 'normal' four-cylinder form.

C-Max Hybrid features the latest version of Ford's Powersplit petrol/electric hybrid drivetrain. Like Ford's existing Fusion sedan and Escape SUV hybrids, it follows the Prius example by featuring an Atkinson cycle four-cylinder petrol engine coupled with an electric motor/generator. Unlike its predecessors or the Toyota, however, it sports the latest Lithium-Ion battery technology.

Ford claims the C-MAX Hybrid will deliver better fuel economy than Fusion and will operate in electric mode beyond 75km/h. [Ed: though this sort of performance is claimed for Fusion also, during our brief drive of the hybrid sedan we didn't see more than 35km/h before the engine cut in.]

The plug-in C-MAX Energi (pictured) will be able to be charged via household electricity overnight and is claimed to offer a range of more than 800km and better gasoline-equivalent fuel economy than GM's Volt, says Ford. It leverages the same powertrain infrastructure as the C-Max Hybrid but gets a larger high-voltage Lithium-Ion battery than will give it extended  emission-free electric operation.

C-Max Energi will benefit from Ford's latest smart systems including the ability to monitor charging remotely and pre-condition the car's interior before it is unplugged and driven away. Whether in a hot climate like Australia or Detroit's freezing winter weather such a feature will significant reduce the drain in the car's battery pack.

Ford has not yet announced its projected electric-only range for the C-Max Energi and remained tight-lipped at this week's briefing.

Nissan LEAF is the comparator for Ford's first pure EV, the Focus Electric. Due to launch in late 2011, Fords calls the Electric a "real car" and says it is "designed to offer enough range to cover the majority of daily driving habits of Americans".

Promising to deliver faster to full charging in half the time of the LEAF, from a cheaper to purchase and relocatable home charging station, Ford says the Focus Electric will offer "a mile-per-gallon equivalent better than Chevrolet Volt and competitive with other battery electric vehicles".

Insiders are suggesting a 160km range for the Focus Electric with a top speed of a freeway-friendly 135km/h.

"This isn't a project car. This isn't a demo vehicle," Pick told the Carsales Network in Detroit.

"We’ve developed the Focus Electric to deliver the same attributes as the conventional engined car."

Indeed, the Electric shares much of its componentry with the conventional variants of the next generation Focus. This leveraging of global platforms to produce electrified models has myriad benefits -- not least to the buyers of the conventional vehicles that will continue to make up the vast majority of Ford and other carmakers, volumes for the next decade or so.

Lightweighting, ECOBoost turbocharged and direct injected smaller capacity engines, electric power steering, auto stop start and a raft of other systems will all play a part in incrementally reducing fuel consumption across the range of Ford vehicles, the maker says. They will be implemented range-wide by the end of the decade the maker promises.

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