Future Fuel Economy Mandates, Part II: Ford

Future Fuel Economy Mandates, Part II: Ford

My first conversation was with Mark Fields, president of Ford North America. "From a powertrain standpoint," he said, "we have a specific strategy of continuing to downsize engines and using EcoBoost with turbocharging and direct fuel injection. Another piece is continuing to take weight out of our vehicles – 250 to 700 pounds over the next several years. Our approach is electrifying the platform, as opposed to a single vehicle, which has a lot of engineering efficiencies. How big a role will vehicle electrification play? "It will play a big role," he responded. "By the end of this decade, we'll see anywhere from 10 to 25 percent of our sales being electrified – conventional hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electrics. How do you get the cost down and volumes up? "Our approach is electrifying the platform, as opposed to a single vehicle, which has a lot of engineering e...

Full article: http://green.autoblog.com/2012/02/17/future-fuel-economy-...