Ford To Boost Vehicle Electrification By 2020
Ford just got a nice $5.9 billion chunk of change from the Department of Energy to make their vehicles more fuel efficient, and it looks as if their plans are a bit more ambitious than previously thought. The original plan for Ford was to use the money to take 13 of their existing models and improve their fuel consumption through hybrid models and variations of traditional powerplants like the EcoBoost engine line. New reports indicate that a full 25% of Ford’s vehicle offerings could be either hybrids or electric vehicles by the year 2020.
The improved fuel economy of the 13 models mentioned above is a very short term goal. Ford has recently introduced their V6 EcoBoost engine to the market in the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKS, and it will also make an appearance in the next F-150. They have a four-cylinder version currently being tested in the Ford Focus in Europe that will hit the States next year when the next generatino of that car premiers. But that is just step one of Ford’s plan.
The next big hurdle is to not only produce a range of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles, but also to convince the driving public that plug-in cars are really worth the price. While current gas prices, which are fairly low, aren’t likely to do this, as the economy rebounds, so will fuel demand and the prices will go up. To get ready for this, Ford is working with utilities companies in order to gather data about precise energy costs for running a plug-in vehicle, like the pictured Ford Escape PHEV (plug-in electric vehicle). By the year 2020, a Ford representative has stated that between 10-25% of the company’s offerings will be electrified in some way, whether a traditional hybrid or a plug-in. Given the current cultural and political climate, this actually seems to have a good chance at becoming reality.My Year Without Sex movies
