Today at the 2009 NAIAS, Ford Motor Company announced an ambitious and daring strategy to transform the way America drives: “We are launching an aggressive plan to bring pure battery electric vehicles as well as next-generation hybrids and plug-in hybrids to the market quickly,” says Bill Ford Jr., the company’s executive chairman, adding that “our electrification strategy is not a test program.”
The company has already produced a prototype, based on the Focus platform, and allowed journalists to take it for a spin through downtown Detroit. By next year, Ford will offer a full-battery–operated van to commercial fleets, and by 2011, the first of Ford’s passenger vehicles — a small car developed with world-class supplier Magna International — will be ready for American drivers. Ford will start out by producing 10,000 cars.
Partnerships like the one with Magna inform Ford’s strategy, which will focus on helping the country’s infrastructure to evolve, improving battery technology, and working with the government to adapt policy. In total, the automaker will produce four different electric vehicles over the next four years, each expected to reach up to 100 miles on a single battery charge. Since most Americans typically drive about 35 miles a day, these cars are the perfect choice for commuters and city drivers.
In conjunction with its battery electric vehicles, Ford will continue to develop hybrid cars, and it will also begin production of a next-generation plug-in hybrid, expected to reach the market by 2012.
The new strategy signals Ford Motor Company’s commitment to a smart, sustainable approach. “Despite all the challenges facing our industry, I’ve never been more excited at the prospects for our future,” says Ford.**