Other renewables

Ford To Triple Production Of Electric Vehicles By 2013

Ford said expanding production capacity of electrific car C-MAX lineup makes a strategically stronger case than introducing gasoline-powered seven-passenger vehicles in North America. Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford said it is tripling production capacity of its electrific car lineup through 2013, further boosting volumes of its all-new C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid which begin production next year.

The Transit Connect Electric is on sale now, and Focus Electric car later this year. The C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid and C-MAX Hybrid would be followed by another next-generation hybrid in 2012. The company sells about 35,000 electric vehicles a year currently, and plans to expand its electrific vehicle production capacity to more than 100,000 annually by 2013.

The plan to invest in even more capacity for its five-passenger C-MAX electrified models for North America replaces an earlier plan of introducing the gasoline-engine-powered seven-passenger C-MAX multi-activity vehicle.

Both the C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi models will be built alongside the all-new 2012 Ford Focus and Focus Electric at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, the first plant in the world to produce gasoline-powered vehicles, full-electric vehicles, hybrid and plug-in hybrids at one location.

The new Ford C-MAX Hybrid is expected to deliver better miles per gallon than Fusion Hybrid and is the first of two new Ford Hybrids to use lithium ion battery technology. With these lighter and smaller lithium ion batteries, energy available to extend driving distance and boost fuel economy would be enhanced.

The new green vehicle lineup is adding more than 220 green technology jobs in Michigan. The second largest U.S. automaker said Tuesday that it expects its worldwide sales to increase by about 50 percent to about 8 million vehicles a year by the middle of the decade.

The company expects to reduce its total automotive debt to about $10 billion by mid-decade, down from $16.6 billion at the end of the first quarter 2011 and from $33.6 billion end of 2009.

Ford was the only major U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy during the downturn and has reported a profit for each of its last seven quarters

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 166,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company.

www.ford.com