Two of the biggest companies in the world will combine their experience and knowledge in an effort to usher in a new era for electric vehicles.
The Ford Motor Company is teaming with Microsoft Corporation to implement the Microsoft Hohm energy management application for Ford’s electric vehicles – the Hohm will be used in the Focus Electric starting next year.
So what is the Microsoft Hohm?
It’s actually an internet based application that provides customers with personalised energy saving recommendations. In the case of the vehicle application, it helps owners determine how they can efficiently recharge batteries for their electric and plug-in vehicles.
Hohm also has several partnerships with utilities that allow the partners to make data-feeds available for their residential customers so they can automatically receive energy consumption, pricing and carbon information. It can also help utility companies to meet and manage the demands of electric vehicles on the electric grid.
The announcement was made official at the New York International Auto Show with Ed Pleet, Ford product and business development manager for the Connected Services group, declaring that the partnership will help customers minimise the issues of transitioning from petrol to electric vehicles. He believes that Hohm will support Ford’s global electrification plan to put five new electric vehicles on the roads in North America and Europe by 2013.
