Ford has just revealed certain details about its new electric vehicle strategy. The automaker has signed with a new supplier of batteries for plug-in hybrids, Johnson Controls-Saft, and seven electricity providers will be testing
Ford's hybrid vehicles .The seven providers are:
- New York Power Authority
- Consolidated Edison of New York
- American Electric Power of Columbus, Ohio
- Alabama Power of Birmingham, Alabama, as well as Atlanta-based Southern Company
- Progress Energy of Raleigh, North Carolina
- DTE Energy of Detroit
- National Grid of Waltham, Massachusetts
- New York State Energy and Research Development Authority, a public corporation
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| Ford Escape Hybrid Plug-In |
The partnership with these American companies will allow Ford to speed up its vehicle electrification plan, which includes a 100% electric minivan that could well hit markets in 2010, a sedan developed with Magna International and scheduled for 2011 and a plug-in electric hybrid for 2012.Ford is known as the first company in the auto industry to have dealt with electricity providers to test its products and to have worked to establish a
battery-recharge network. As for the agreement with Johnson Controls-Saft, the automaker will receive 5,000 batteries per year for the next five years.
photo: Ford