Ford has proven it can build proper hybrid, PHEV and battery electric vehicles. Today the Blue Oval announced $4.5 billion will be invested in its electrification program – the carmaker’s biggest electrified vehicle investment over a five year period. That investment will enable an additional 13 new electrified vehicles to its product lineup by 2020 and establish 40 percent of Ford’s product mix to be electrified vehicles by the end of this decade.
That investment will include ongoing research towards making lithium-ion batteries smaller, more powerful, and extending their range. Ford has seen rapid growth with the lithium-ion battery technology and thinks a lot more advancements can be untapped over the next 10 years.
Since the first Escape hybrid was put into production for the 2004 model year, improved battery technology has been applied to vehicle updates every two to three years with higher power density, better range and lower cost to build.
Example is the soon to be released new Focus Electric will feature DC fast charging capability, which can be recharged up to 80 percent in approximately 30 minutes and an estimated 100 mile range. That is two hours faster than the charging capabilities of the current Focus Electric model.
Here is a look at the 2012 Focus Electric and a factory tour.
