Ford is to begin taking orders for its first electric van model, the Transit Connect Electric in the US as order books open tomorrow (November 2, 2011).
The model forms one of the first step in the car maker’s electrification strategy, by which the firm intends to launch five electrified models by 2013 in Europe and the US.
The Transit Connect Electric van is already accompanied by the launch of the Focus Electric-an electric version of the popular mid-size family car-which is capable of fully recharging in three to four hours with an at-home 240-volt charge station.
Next year, the new Ford C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid will go on sale. The new C-MAX Hybrid is targeted to deliver better mpg than Fusion Hybrid and is the first Ford Hybrid to use lithium ion battery technology. Lithium-ion batteries are up to 50 per cent lighter and 25 per cent smaller than current nickel-metal-hydride batteries Ford uses, and will help the brand’s hybrid models increase the amount of energy available to extend the vehicle’s driving distance and boost fuel economy.
The C-MAX Energi, features a 240-volt charging system, which Ford say will be able to fully recharge faster than Chevy Volt and is being engineered to deliver more overall driving range than any other plug-in or extended range electric vehicle.
