A fleet of experimental 鈥減lug-in hybrid鈥� vehicles is to be developed under a partnership announced by US auto maker and utility company on Monday.
Plug-in hybrids have a normal combustion engine and a battery that be recharged via a standard electric power outlet.
Ford says cars incorporating the technology could go on sale within the next decade, providing battery technology continues to improve. 鈥淲ithin 5 to 10 years we will start to see this technology in our hands,鈥� Ford CEO Alan Mulally said at the announcement.
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Mulally declined to give a more precise production target, however, saying: 鈥淚 can鈥檛 go further than that. We will know a lot more in the next few years.鈥�
It is still the first time the second biggest auto maker in the US has offered a timeline for producing plug-in hybrid vehicles. Many environmental advocates see these vehicles as the best available technology for reducing fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Better batteries
Details of the alliance were announced at Edison International鈥檚 headquarters in suburban Los Angeles on Monday. Under the partnership, researchers from Southern California Edison and Ford will work together to test 20 plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Ford will provide sport utility vehicles, which will be re-engineered in cooperation with an as-yet-unnamed battery maker.
Environmental advocates, who have targeted Ford in the past, welcomed the tie-up and said it showed the automaker was back in the race for electric car technology with Toyota Motor and General Motors.
However, Mulally cautioned the commercial rollout of the still experimental vehicles depends on advances in battery technology, an assessment shared by other rival car makers.
鈥楲ong wait鈥�
Ford introduced another electric hybrid vehicle 鈥� the Escape 鈥� in 2004. But environmental advocates, particularly in California, have been pressing manufacturers to roll out plug-in vehicles capable of running solely on electricity for short distances, and recharging at a standard electric outlet.
鈥淐onsumers have been waiting a long time for an auto maker to offer the next generation of ultra-fuel-efficient, gasoline-optional cars,鈥� said environmental groups Rainforest Action Network and Global Exchange Campaign in a joint statement released in response to Ford鈥檚 announcement.
General Motors has already begun development work this year on its own plug-in hybrid car, designed to use little or no gasoline over short distances. It showed off a concept version, called the Chevrolet Volt, in January 2007 and has set 2010 as a target for production.
