• First Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV) delivered to Southern California Edison as part of unique partnership to advance commercialization of PHEVs; on-road testing underway.
• Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid with lithium-ion battery achieves up to 120 mpg.
• Ford Edge with HySeries Drive is world’s first drivable fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle with plug-in capability.
• HySeries Drive technology is able to operate using a fuel cell, small gasoline or diesel engine connected to an electric generator to make electricity

Dearborn, Mich., Dec. 11, 2007 – Ford Motor Company is aggressively advancing plug-in hybrid technology through two different applications on research demonstration vehicles as a way to help improve the functionality and durability of lithium-ion battery packs and the future commercialization of plug-in hybrid technology.

The first Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid demonstration vehicle was delivered to Southern California Edison for testing in early December. Under a unique two-year partnership with the utility company, a 20-unit fleet will be tested in California, first in the utility’s electric vehicle fleet, and later with selected residential customers.

The Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV), capable of delivering up to 120 miles per gallon, would mean far fewer trips to the gas station.

“To deliver the superior fuel economy of our PHEVs to the customer – at a value that is not cost prohibitive, we are working with our partners, Southern California Edison, to identify new business models,” said Sherif Marakby, chief engineer for Ford’s Global Core Hybrid Engineering. “Such models could address battery ownership issues and customer, utility and automaker value as it relates to the electrification of vehicles.”

The parallel hybrid electric vehicle uses common household current (120 volts) for charging, with a full charge of the battery completed within six to eight hours. When driven on surface streets for the first 30 miles following a full charge, the Ford Escape PHEV can achieve up to 120 mpg – roughly 4.5 times its traditional gas internal combustion engine-powered counterpart.

A fully charged Ford Escape PHEV operates in two modes, electric drive and blended electric/engine drive. At urban speeds, the high capacity plug-in hybrid battery allows for extended battery-only driving distance. At higher power demands and vehicle speeds, the vehicle automatically switches to blended electric/engine mode, providing propulsion using both the engine and the high-capacity battery, further reducing fuel consumption.

The vehicle is not range-limited by the amount of charge available in the high-voltage lithium-ion battery, because once the charge in the battery has been depleted, the vehicle continues to operate as a fuel-efficient, standard Ford Escape Hybrid. The transition is automatic and unnoticeable to the driver.

Ford and SCE jointly will conduct testing of the vehicles, some of which may be evaluated in typical customer settings to model overall home and grid values. The testing will provide valuable data related to the durability, reliability and safety of new battery technology. The cost of those advanced batteries today means the technology is currently not economically feasible for widespread consumer applications.

Ford Edge with HySeries Drive

Testing is also underway with the Ford Edge with HySeries Drive technology, the world’s first drivable fuel cell hybrid electric plug-in. The HySeries combines an onboard hydrogen fuel cell generator with lithium ion batteries to deliver more than 41 mpg, while some drivers will see fuel economy well over 80 mpg. ....

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