Ford to launch Focus BEV test fleet in the UK
The Focus-based electric car that Ford is developing with Magna for a 2011 introduction is not the only EV program in the company. Early next year, Ford will start testing a fleet of battery-powered Focuses in the UK with funding from a British government program. The Technology Strategy Board announced a total of £25 million for eight projects, including the Ford EV test (we'll have details on the others up soon). Unlike the production-intent program in the U.S., Ford is collaborating with its partner for the Transit Connect EV, Smith Electric vehicles. The battery Focuses will be used by staff from Scottish and Southern Energy in Hillingdon, Middlesex, a utility which is partnering with Smith and Ford on the program. The Focus will use the same lithium iron phosphate batteries that Smith put into the Tourneo Connect BEV concept that we saw at the Geneva Show in March.
Gallery: Ford Tourneo Connect BEV
[Source: AutoCar]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nick P. 1:39PM (6/24/2009)
What's the deal with all these "tests". I mean, either you can mass-produce a car like this or you can't. I dunno, I don't see GM, Tesla or Fisker wasting time with test fleets beside the crash-testing units.
You build it, people drool over it and you sell it to them before they loose interest. Simple.
Anything else is just green marketing to me.
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Throwback 2:36PM (6/24/2009)
"Anything else is just green marketing to me."
Or proper vehicle development for a mass market car which will be used under every imaginable scenario. Fleet tests provide much more data in a shorter period of time.
Stew 3:15PM (6/24/2009)
Proper vehicle develpment? Come on, the vehicle IS already developed, this is not a new from the ground up car here. Electric motors have been around for what, 100+ years? What is there to test that you don't already know for pete sake? They've been making electic cars since the early 1900's.
Quit stalling and sell them already.
Stew
Nck P. 3:32PM (6/24/2009)
Exactly,
Small outfits like AC Propulsion and Tesla have been selling these things without the need for a EV1-style fake "test fleet".
These guys are stalling big time, wishing they would not have to sell these cars. Thank god Tesla and GM will get them on the corner.
Chris M 3:58PM (6/24/2009)
Every new model has "tests", and for entirely new powerplants, the tests are more extensive.
IIRC, Tesla Motors had 5 "engineering prototoypes and a dozen "validation prototypes" built and tested before production began.
Granted, Ford may be excessively cautious, but it is better to get it right before sales begin.
jake 5:13PM (6/24/2009)
To be fair, all the EV makers had test fleets, even Tesla. The only difference is they were in private and in this case it's in the public, like the EV-1, MINI-E, etc. As long as they are serious about having EVs for sale (seems they are serious) after the test fleet then I'm fine with test fleets.
polo 5:13PM (6/24/2009)
God this is stupid. EVERY automaker coming out with mass production EVs is doing fleet tests on them. The reasons should be pretty obvious. These are all new electric drive-trains. They have to optimize battery chemistry, test repeated charges and cycling, reactions with the electric grid, etc. I haven't seen one automaker working on an ev NOT announce fleet tests before the final mass production. In fact many automakers due this with all new vehicle programs.
Just a few fleet test announcements:
imev fleet testing:
"After a press conference, Kulongoski took the first ride in the Mitsubishi iMEV, a new-generation lithium-ion-powered electric vehicle that will be part of a fleet testing program in Oregon later this year. PGE is working with the private sector and government entities to create a network of plug-in charging stations for next-generation electric vehicles."
http://www.partsandpeople.com/Northwest/articles/view/4213
Miles EV
"The Coda will go on sale in 2010 with factory direct sales at a price of $45,000 before incentives. Following a 200-fleet test in the summer of that year, Coda will be offered to the public starting in the fall."
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/06/03/miles-ev-launches-coda-automotive-for-full-speed-electric-sedan/2
Toyota Prius
Building on a plug-in hybrid test program it began in France a year ago, Toyota of Europe said this morning that it has begun placing an unspecified number of plug-in Priuses with London-based EDF Energy. The cars will be used by EDF employees as part of the electric utility's everyday company fleet in a test that will last more than a year, the companies said in a joint announcement.
http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2008/09/toyota-launches-uk-testing-of-plug-in-prius-hybrids.html
wave54 6:07PM (6/24/2009)
** You build it, people drool over it and you sell it to them before they loose interest. Simple. **
No thanks! There have been far too many cars (both ICE and electric) that have been unleased on the public without proper testing. It seems that all the freeway-capable models due to come out use LiOn batteries with varying chemistries that have never been tested over the long-term, under a variety of charging and climactic conditions.
What works well in a climate-controlled laboratory may not pan out in the real world of traffic, potholes, and every type of weather from extreme heat to bone-chilling cold that Mother Nature can serve up.
If you want "just anything" so you can have an EV, fine. Don't expect the rest of us to want the same. You could end up with a car similar to the Citroen Ev'ie that was revewed recently in the UK on http://www.aminorjourney.com and failed miserably during an actual road test.
letstakeawalk 10:07PM (9/30/2009)
The reason for fleet testing is obvious: the cars are too expensive to sell. The Focus is already well designed, and integrating the battery and motors is a simple task. The problem must lie in the cost of the battery.
Another alternative? The battery has lifetime durability issues. How long can it maintain charge sufficient to deliver a typical range?
Jim Mbongo 3:21PM (6/24/2009)
While Others are building their owns, Ford is using tehcnology for Smith and Magna and want allm of us believe that Electric Ford Focus & Transit Van are Ford cars. Umbelievable! This is a shame! .
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Chris M 4:00PM (6/24/2009)
No car manufacturer makes all the parts that go into their products, so why shouldn't Ford be buying batteries and electric motors from others?
polo 5:16PM (6/24/2009)
Huh? Magna is a major parts supplier. Do you know how many engines and drivetrains they supply?? You trolls are getting pretty ridiculous and desperate.
jpm 3:20PM (6/24/2009)
WTF?! Launch it in the USA goddamit.
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Lad 4:01PM (6/24/2009)
This is what I would call a "Planned Strategic Delay." I truly think this is a result of the auto maker's lobbying group, the AAM, calling the shots...didn't you notice many of the major companies are working on the same schedules to bring BEVs to market. And, they need the time to sell their existing ICE inventories.
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paulwesterberg 4:34PM (6/24/2009)
Exactly, they wont close or retrofit existing factories until those product lines stop making money. There is much more competition in Europe from Peugeot, Pininfarina, Renault, lotus, etc and there are already evs for available: G-Wiz, Smart EV, mini ev, imiev.
Right now Ford's only domestic EV competition is Tesla, ebox, & NEVs, and they are mostly not affordable or not practical and don't really compete in the same space.
polo 5:20PM (6/24/2009)
Where are you quacks coming from?
There isn't any delay in the program. This is just a fleet test announcement. If you read this blog you'd know all the automakers are doing fleet tests a year or two before their mass EV launch.
Throwback 7:30PM (6/24/2009)
Why would Ford NOT, want to sell their ICE vehicles also? They are a for profit company who needs every sale they can get. They also can not afford to put out an all new model and have it be trouble prone. Some of you folks need to take the tin foil hats off.
Stan Wellaway 5:09PM (6/24/2009)
As a (smallscale) private shareholder in Tanfield Group (the UK-listed company that owns Smith) I'm delighted to see that Ford will be working closely with them on the european Focus EV. And I don't share the paranoia of those here who see conspiracies everywhere!
A few weeks ago we saw the surprise announcement that Citroen would be supplying cars to ECC, a small UK outfit producing an electric version of the Citroen C1. No fleet tests - just an out-of-the-blue announcement. Sadly it seems that these cars are not all working well. Sounds like a lack of development. Ford presumably don't want that happening with anything displaying the blue oval.
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