Ford Partners to Commercialize Electric Cars

Ford (F) will introduce a battery-only commercial van in 2010, followed by a passenger car built on the same technology in 2011, and exciting plug-in vehicles by 2012. To accelerate commercialization, Ford will partner with leaders in drive systems, lithium batteries, specialty electric vehicles, and electric utilities.

Ford will build on its existing success with the Ford Escape Hybrid, the most fuel-efficient SUV on the market, and the Ford Fusion Hybrid, an impressive mid-sized sedan that ranks in the Clean Fleet Report’s Top 10 Sedans.

Last summer, I met with Ford’s Nancy Gioia, Director, Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Vehicle Programs, and Greg Frenette, Chief engineer for research and advanced technologies. They discussed Ford’s commitment to continued improvements in fuel economy with gas turbo direct injection (GTDI), lighter vehicle weight without any sacrifice in safety, transmission efficiency, and increased use of electric drive systems. Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are definitely in Ford’s future. In fact, Nancy Gioia, has been driving her own Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid.

The Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid has been successfully in a number of fleet and research environments. One is Boulder, Colorado, which is becoming Smart Grid City. Working with a major utility, Xcel Energy (XEL), residents hope to lower their utility bills, improve energy efficiency, and develop city-wide support for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

University of Colorado Chancellor Bud Peterson and his wife, Val, were the first to let Xcel transform their home to be part of Smart Grid City. Xcel put solar panels on the house, gave them a new smart meter for vehicle charging, and a Ford Escape Hybrid which is converted to have vehicle-to-grid capability. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology is a bi-directional electric grid interface that allows an electric vehicle to take energy from the grid or put it back on the grid. When fully charged, their car plug-in hybrid batteries have enough power to keep their home running for days by using V2G.

Seven more electric utility providers are joining the Ford and Electric Power Research Institute to expand real world testing with Ford Escape PHEVs. Utility partnerships and industry standards will be critical to the expansion of a smart-charging infrastructure and to the long-term viability of V2G.

Ford will have Johnson Controls-Saft develop an advanced lithium-ion battery system to power Ford’s first commercial plug-in hybrid (PHEV). The lithium-ion battery system that Johnson Controls-Saft is designing and manufacturing for Ford includes cells, mechanical, electrical, electronic, and thermal components. Initially the cells will be produced at the supplier’s production facility in France, but the system will be assembled in the United States. The five-year supply agreement includes delivery for committed production in 2012 with a target of at least 5,000 units per year.

Commercial sales of the Ford Escape PHEV are planned for 2012. A fully charged Ford Escape PHEV operates in two modes, electric drive and blended electric/engine drive. It uses common household current (120 volts) for charging, with a full charge of the lithium-ion battery completed within 6 to 8 hours. When driven on surface streets for the first 30 miles following a full charge, the Ford Escape PHEV can achieve up to 120 mpg. This 30-mile range fits the average daily needs of most U.S. drivers.

In 2010, Ford also plans to begin sales of zero-emission battery-electric vans. To speed time to market, Ford will be collaborating with Tanfield to offer battery-electric versions of the Ford Transit and Transit Connect commercial vehicles for fleet customers in the UK and European markets. Tanfield’s Smith has over 100 electric trucks and delivery vans in service with customers today. More details may be announced at the Chicago Auto Show this month.

Battery-electric vans are well suited for many applications where ranges are limited and frequent stopping provides for regenerative braking. USPS has used electric postal vehicles for years. FedEx Express (FDX) has ordered 10 Modec electric commercial vehicles for use in the United Kingdom.

At the Detroit Auto Show, Ford was showing a new battery-electric sedan developed jointly with Magna International (MGA) with a 23kWh lithium battery pack. Commercial sales are planned for 2011 for a vehicle similar in size to the Ford Focus. Ford will compete with hundreds of battery-electric vehicle competitors including smaller specialty vehicle makers and Nissan, which is determined to be the early volume leader in freeway-speed electric vehicles. Ford will also be competing with the plug-in Prius (TM) and Chevy Volt (GM).

Given the success of Ford and Mercury hybrids, Ford is positioned to do well as it expands into these plug-in hybrid and battery-electric offerings. Success will lead to success, with larger and smaller Ford EVs being likely past 2012.

Disclosure: No position in stocks mentioned.

Comments

[Mike InMich:]

Overall a very good article. Way to go Ford! But this statement needs explanation:

" When driven on surface streets for the first 30 miles following a full charge, the Ford Escape PHEV can achieve up to 120 mpg. "

I see a lot of this 100+ MPG stuff when talking about electrics. The problem is that it is hard to define the MPG for a vehicle using energy from the grid. This is not free energy, and is most likely from fossil fuel (coal) in the U.S. We must be careful to not overstate the "green" aspect of PHEVs. I think there is a net gain for the environment for such vehicles, albeit at a great cost, but I suspect the 120 MPG figure overstates this benefit.

Perhaps the author can explain the 120 MPG figure for the readers.

Also, there is a tendancy for the advocates to suggest that only solar or wind power will be used for these cars. But if such power were availaable in the quantities required, such power could just as well have been diverted to other electricity uses and displaced more coal. I think we should use a factor, something on the order of 80%, that represents the percent of electricity in the US from coal when assessing the effect of electric cars on global warming.

There is a great risk of spending a lot of US resources on a over-hyped technology if we don't get this math correct.

Feb 06 08:25 AM

[jack kreg:]

Ford should partner to offer a natural gas powered (NG) car,
instead of one powered by coal fired electricity.

NG is a far superior choice;
-fuel is abundant in the USA and is cheap,
-American NG reserves have nearly doubled in last 10 years,
-a NG powered car is much cheaper than electric,
-electric powered cars use expensive battery's which dont yet exist,
-the battery's have not been proven to last for decades like the ICE motor in todays cars, which commomly last 200,000 miles or 10 years,
-NG powered cars could be produced with todays technology, and be sold this coming fall, 2009,
-NG powered cars won't cost 40-50K, like GM's volt, which may not even be sold in 2010.

American needs a low cost car, which runs on a low cost fuel, that is abundant in the USA.

Feb 06 10:53 AM

[Paul Killinger:]

Mike,

Well stated, sir.

By the way I believe the current numbers are 50% coal, 25% NG, 20% nuclear and 5% for the rest. Right now renewables are .35, and we're looking to double that to 7/10's of ONE percent.

Feb 06 01:23 PM

[Alan Young:]

The Prius is made by Toyota (TM) -- the HMC label is wrong. HMC does have a hybrid in the works, too, which will also be competing.

Feb 06 01:25 PM

[Paul Killinger:]

Jack,

You are EXACTLY right about NGV's. Unfortunately, all we can do is write our elected officials, or take it up with them at the next election.

Feb 06 01:26 PM

[Stan Wellaway:]

UK-listed Tanfield Group today announced the formation of a new US company called Smith Electric Vehicles US Corporation (SEVUS), the majority of shares in which will be US-owned.

This not only allows them access to US government funding for the development of alternative transport solutions - it also allows Ford to name them as their (US based) partner for the 2010 electric van. I don't know if this is what Ford intend doing, but if so, there are two imminent opportunities to do so. The car show in Chicago next week, and the WorkTruck show early next month.

Ford and Smith are already partners in Europe, where the established Smith Edison and newer Smith Ampere are both dual-badged Ford/Smith.

Feb 06 04:35 PM

[John Addison:]

Thank you for the valuable feedback.

Total lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions are important. Fortunately, the over 100 early adopters of EV and PHEV which I have interviewed, have largely also been early adopters of renewable energy. As we expand into millions of EV and PHEV, coal power plants at the other end should be a concern. Although I would like to see all coal plants eventually replaced with RE, the efficiency of electric drive systems provides immediate benefits. Electric drive systems are often 300% more efficient that internal combustion engine vehicles that are not hybrid. A PHEV lowers lifecycle emissions even when coal power is used.

California's low carbon fuel standard reports and Argonne National Labs GREET reports are recommended for lifecycle details.

Ford specifically estimated 120 mpg based on a blended mode with both engine and electric motor engaged for part of the driving cycle. Customer's actual results will vary with the amount of stopping (regenerative braking), driving conditions, driving style, etc.

Yes, the Prius is made by Toyota. HMC is a mistake that is not in my original article at cleanfleetreport.com. I have asked the Seeking Alpha editor to correct the mistake.

Good discussion of natural gas. Over 7 million vehicles globally run on natural gas. In the U.S. natural gas heavy-vehicles have been successful in public transportation, delivery fleets, and ports. It is encouraging to see Toyota demonstrating the Toyota Camry Hybird CNG, which they may start offering to fleets.

Feb 07 11:40 AM