As the race to see who will bring out the first and more importantly best electric vehicle heats up, it looks like Ford have embraced the technology quickest. Rumours of an announcement from auto giants General Motors have grown over previous weeks and months as Ford looks to establish themselves as market leaders in getting electronic vehicles worldwide.
The advances made with Ford’s hybrid technology will help the company reinforce the brand when they eventually release their first electric vehicle. The first vehicle is being made in Europe and is expected to be called the Ford Transit Connect. This automobile will feature a 29KWH battery and Ford are hoping to sell approximately 100,000 in the first year.
Plans for the future include several different electronic automobiles that will be specifically aimed for the consumer market. The plan is for a Focus typed car to be available for 2011. A Ford BEV (battery electric vehicle) was given a test drive at a recent Washington Auto Fair and was meant to “Accelerate in a brisk manner” as well as making “barely a flutter of noise”. Encouraging news for Ford enthusiasts.
The design of the Ford BEV is between themselves and Magna International. Magna supply the electric parts including batteries and powertrain parts, on top of designing the vehicle design and engineering. The BEV contains an in car battery charger that takes only 6 hours to charge with 220 volts, once charged the BEV will travel up to 100 miles. Unfortunately it seems like the Americans will be getting hold of this first before the Asian or European markets. Unlucky for the ones out there looking for a Ford dealership in Dorset!
