Would you ever believe that an SUV can get 120 miles per gallon? If not, keep reading because that’s exactly what the Ford Motor Company is working on.
The actual company manufacturing the new and more efficient hybrid batteries – Johnson Controls-Saft – is now sharing $30 million from the federal government to develop these products. Last week, the United States Department of Energy announced funding the project for $10 million each year for the next three years. This announcement came one day after the automaker announced it has a plug-in version of the Escape that gets 120 miles to the gallon. The manufacturer is working in conjunction with Ford to create batteries for Ford trucks and cars so this can be a reality instead of a futuristic theory.
The goal of the two companies is to make plug-in hybrids more affordable by 2014. With the competitiveness in the hybrid market, Ford plans to have less expensive plug-in hybrids on their lots not later than 2016.
As for the environment, Ford estimates that these newer vehicles would emit 60 percent less CO2 than gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size. But there are still a few obstacles in the way, including cost-effective batteries that are durable enough to withstand the cold winters in places like Michigan and the extreme heat of places like California and Arizona. With time and patience, though, I’m sure they’ll get it figured out before long.
