Ford Motor Co. brought its vision of the future to Green Car Expo in Madison this summer. In its fifth year, the Expo gives hundreds of people a view of technological developments in the auto industry and a chance to test-drive some of the country’s most innovative cars.

Chris Pick, Ford’s manager of Global Electrification Business Strategy, said Ford has a goal of 10 to 20 percent of its vehicles as hybrid-electric, plug-in hybrid electric or all-electric vehicles by 2020. The now familiar hybrid-electric vehicles combine an internal combustion gasoline engine with an electric battery propulsion system. Plug-in hybrids have a gasoline engine and add a more powerful electric battery that can be recharged at standard electrical outlets. A battery electric vehicle has no gasoline engine and operates solely on its plug-in battery.  

Electrification is needed, Pick said, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, diversify the fuel supply, reduce fuel costs and, of course, to make Ford competitive with other companies.

At present, sales of hybrid electrics make up less than three percent of the market, and hybrid sales generally spike when gas prices rise and fall off as gas prices dip. Ford and others foresee a long-term growth for electrified cars as gas prices soar and remain at high levels.

“The volatility in the marketplace means we won’t have straight-line growth,” Pick added. Ford’s strategy is flexible and not based on any one model or technological development.
How does Ford propose moving the market toward its goals? By emphasizing the benefits of electric systems such as:

• The engine “start-stop” technology that turns off the gasoline engine after the car is motionless for a few seconds, such as occurs at stoplights;

• Electrical engine-assist systems that allow the same performance with smaller gasoline engines;

• Regenerative braking, which converts a car’s kinetic energy into battery replenishing electric energy, instead of wasting it as heat;

• Electrical-launch systems that allow a car to start up in electric mode. The Fusion, for example, can now go up to 47 mph in electric mode before the gas engine kicks in.

• Ford is also making electric vehicles more affordable by using its highest volume standard models as the platform for electrical cars and by re-using technological developments in succeeding generations of power trains.

• Pick emphasized that auto companies need the collaboration of many players to electrify their fleets. Batteries must be improved in terms of weight, size, performance and affordability.  A good deal of research is being conducted around this country and elsewhere to improve batteries. Johnson Controls will produce advanced lithium-ion batteries at its new plant in Holland, Mich.

With the shift to plug-in hybrids, Pick said, “Our industry and utilities are now linked.” The nation’s 3,000 electric utilities must supply a grid capable of meeting power demands, especially those of concentrations of plug-in cars in certain neighborhoods. Since the top range for most electric vehicles is about 100 miles, a network of public battery charging stations is also needed, and Ford is working with several utilities to install stations.

Madison Gas & Electric is already ahead of the game with three public charging stations in the Madison area with plans to expand to 18 in the next 18 months.

Ironically, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison developed an electric car in 1914, but Ford abandoned it to focus on gasoline engines. Now, the company sees electric vehicles as the road to success in the 21st century.

By John Hill

You can contact John Hill by e-mail at jhoythill@sbcglobal.net.