Ford's European electric vehicle took a leap forward this week when the company expanded plans to test a fleet of its electric Transit Connect delivery vehicles. The Transit Connect Electric demonstration fleet is developed with funding assistance from the UK Government's "Ultra-Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator" program.
For a few months, we’ve known about Ford’s electrification plans in Europe—the introduction of the Transit Connect Electric light commercial vehicle in 2011; the release of the Ford Focus Electric in 2012; and hybrid and plug-in hybrid version of its C-Max vehicle—a kind of small versatile family wagon—in 2013.
Ford’s next step is to test vehicles and infrastructure by putting a demo fleet on the road. A consortium of Ford, Scottish and Southern Energy and the University of Strathclyde is providing the Transit Connect Electric and charging infrastructure in and around Hillingdon during 2010 and 2011. The project allows Ford to increase the demonstration fleet to 21 passenger vehicles from the original plan of 15.
The chairman of Ford of Britain, Joe Greenwell, expressed the company's goals to develop a portfolio of fuel-efficient technologies. "There is increasing interest among our customers for electrified vehicles and we are responding by stepping up our efforts to bring these models to the marketplace alongside our latest-generation, fuel-efficient petrol and diesel powered models," Greenwell said.
The 2011 Ford Edge SEL and Limited, which account for about 80 percent of all Edge sales, are now EPA-estimated at 19 mpg city and 27 mpg highway (front-wheel drive), which is unsurpassed in each category. The new Edge is now 1 mpg better city and 2 mpg better highway — with even greater power. The standard 3.5-liter V6 engine produces 285 horsepower, best-in-class among V6 competitors and 20 more horsepower than the outgoing Edge.
Ford Edge