Ford has announced it is to invest $135 million into the development of the next generation of hybrid-electric vehicles.
The US carmaker said it hoped to make its headquarters in Michigan a ‘centre of excellence for vehicle electrification’ as it announced the new fund that will also create over 200 new jobs. The money will be used to design, engineer and produce key components for the company’s next-generation hybrid vehicles.
Ford engineers in Dearborn, MI will design the battery packs while engineers in Livonia will design electric-drive transaxles for the next-generation hybrids, based on Ford’s global C- and CD-car platforms, which go into production in North America in 2012.
“Electrified vehicles are a key part of our plan to offer a full lineup of green vehicles, and we are building a centre of excellence in the U.S., here in Michigan, to keep Ford on the cutting edge,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s president of The Americas. “Today’s announcement is another important step in our larger strategy to launch a family of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and full electric vehicles around the world.”
Ford’s Rawsonville Plant in Ypsilanti, Mich., will assemble the battery packs beginning in 2012, moving work to Michigan that is currently performed in Mexico by a supplier. Ford’s Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights, Mich., will build the electric drive transaxles beginning in 2012 from a supplier facility in Japan. Ford is adding a combined 170 jobs at the Rawsonville and Van Dyke facilities to build these key components.
Ford’s global electrification strategy includes plans to launch five new full electric or hybrid vehicles in the compact, midsize and light commercial segments in the North American market by 2012 and European markets by 2013. This line-up includes; a Transit Connect electric light commercial in North America later this year and in Europe in 2011, a Focus electric in North America in 2011 and in Europe in 2012, a Lincoln MKZ hybrid, available this autumn in North America, a next-generation hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle based on Ford’s global C-car platform in North America in 2012 and a C-MAX hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric model for Europe in 2013
“Electrified vehicles are one part of Ford’s broader strategy to offer a wide range of environmentally friendly transportation solutions designed to improve fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions affordably for customers around the world,” said Nancy Gioia, Ford’s director of global electrification.
