Ford and Volvo to invest $1.36 billion for new hybrid technology
With hybrids the alternative vehicle of choice for most consumers (yes, there are more flexible-fuel vehicles on the roads today, but how many people fill them with E85?), Ford and its Volvo subsidiary announced last week that they would invest over a billion dollars in a new center in Goteborg to develop new hybrid systems for their vehicles. This BusinessWeek article says the companies will use the new hybrid technology in all of Ford's brands in Europe and for Volvo models worldwide. Volvo will run the center will, but it that reason enough for excluding American Ford vehicles from benefiting from the gas-saving technology? If so, then it appears that Ford wants to continue losing gas-price conscious American customers to Honda and Toyota. [Source: BusinessWeek and Mixed Power]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gnomic 10:26PM (7/03/2006)
Ford does 180; abandons hybrid technology for flex fuel strategy to cheat CAFE standards.
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CH 12:28PM (7/04/2006)
The Business Week article is incorrect.
There were two separate but related initiatives announced simultaneouly by Ford/Volvo. The first is a corporate initiative to create a center in Sweden, headed by Volvo, to develop hybrid technology for the Ford Europe and PAG business units. No price tag was given.
The second is that Volvo cars will invest 10 million SEK ($1.4 billion) in environmental techologies.
"The investment initiative will focus primarily on the development and deployment of cleaner, more efficient diesel engines, hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles, the use of light, strong materials like magnesium, aluminium and lighter, high-strength steel, and the introduction of smaller vehicles, while continuing to meet customer expectations for safety in Volvo Cars"
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