Ford and Toyota to Work Together on Hybrid System for Trucks

DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Company and Toyota Motor said on Monday that they would jointly develop a gas-electric hybrid fuel system for pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles aimed at keeping larger models affordable as the automakers work to meet stricter fuel-economy standards.
The companies said they did not plan to collaborate on developing the vehicles themselves, instead using the hybrid system they develop to power separate models under the Ford and Toyota brands. The resulting hybrid trucks would go on sale later this decade, they said, without providing a more specific timeframe.
“Clearly Ford and Toyota will remain competitors,” said Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president for research and development. “By working together, we will be able to offer our customers more affordable technology sooner.”
In addition, Ford and Toyota said they intended to collaboratively develop new technology for information and entertainment systems in vehicles, with the goal of offering more Internet-based services and useful data to drivers. The companies already are among the industry’s leaders in this area, known as telematics, and their partnership could give them enough leverage to essentially dictate the standards that other automakers use to wirelessly connect mobile phones and other devices to vehicles.
The partnership sprang from informal talks between the chief executives of the two companies, Alan R. Mulally at Ford and Akio Toyoda at Toyota, that began when the two accidentally crossed paths at an airport, according to Takeshi Uchiyamada, Toyota’s executive vice president for research and development. Teams led by Mr. Kuzak and Mr. Uchiyamada began working together in April.
They said many specifics of the deal had yet to be determined. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding Monday and expect to enter into a formal agreement next year, after completing a feasibility study that will help them lay out more detailed plans.
Ford makes the top-selling truck in the United States, the F-150, and Toyota is the leading producer of hybrid vehicles, having sold 3.3 million since introducing the popular Prius car in 1997.
Neither company sells a hybrid truck, and other automakers have had little success doing so.
But proposed fuel-economy standards, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency last month, that would require automakers to build much more fuel-efficient vehicles in the years ahead are forcing them to explore more advanced technology. By collaborating, Ford and Toyota hope to reduce the costs and development time of such work and keep hybrid trucks from becoming too expensive or lacking in performance.
“The E.P.A. fuel standards are a big challenge for us automakers,” Mr. Uchiyamada said through a translator. “Trucks and S.U.V.’s are vehicles that the American society cannot do without. This collaboration we are forming with Ford is not only about lowering carbon dioxide but making light-duty trucks and S.U.V.’s more affordable.”
The hybrid system they plan to develop would be for rear-wheel-drive vehicles. The Toyota Prius and Ford’s hybrids, including the Fusion sedan and Escape small sport utility vehicle, are front-wheel drive.
Ford and Toyota have not worked together on product development efforts until now, though such partnerships are increasingly common in the industry. Ford is involved in joint development efforts on some transmissions with General Motors and on diesel powertrains in Europe with PSA Peugeot Citroën.
“This is the kind of collaborative effort that is required to address the big global challenges of energy independence and environmental sustainability,” Mr. Mulally said in a statement.

Don't Be Shocked — Be Informed

As a vehicle service technician, you are undoubtedly professionally excited about hybrid vehicles, which represent new engineering innovations that are interesting to service. With hybrid vehicle sales expected to increase to 11% of all new car sales in the U.S. by 2012, hybrid vehicle training will be an increasing part of your professional education.
You are probably aware of the new dangers of servicing hybrid vehicles. The high-voltage battery responsible for the outstanding mileage of the vehicles packs enough juice to kill, quickly. The electrolyte in the high-voltage battery will dissolve human tissue.
Fortunately, manufacturers design hybrid vehicles not only with an eye on fuel efficiency and overall attractiveness to the buyer, but also with strong consideration for the safety of service technicians and emergency responders.
In Japan, where many of the first hybrid cars were developed, the government required that hybrid vehicles be designed so that use of the "Jaws of Life" on a crashed and mangled vehicle could not penetrate the high-voltage circuit. Likewise, in the U.S., hybrid vehicles must comply with strict DOT standards to be allowed on the road.
Eight Basics of Hybrid Safety
Vehicle manufacturers and third-party training centers have extensive programs for service technicians. Many technicians have not yet been trained, however, because hybrid vehicles are still rare for most service  bays. Here's a list of some of the basics that every service technician should know:

1. Identifying a vehicle as a hybrid
2. Is the vehicle really turned off?
3. Protecting yourself from high voltage
4. Protecting yourself from corrosive liquids
5. Disposing of high-voltage batteries
6. Towing and in-shop vehicle movement
7. What to do in case of fire
8. Getting trained 

Ford’s F-Series heavy-duty trucks plug in technology

Plug-in technology aren’t just the darling of shoe-shaped hybrids anymore. Ford’s F-Series heavy-duty trucks are getting the chance to ride the lightning, and it could mean sweeping changes in the commercial truck segment.
Don’t look for this on the popular F-150 yet, however. Think bigger. The commercial F-550 Super Duty will get the first plug-in technology from supplier Azure Dynamics, which is targeting a 2013 release date. The F-450 and F-350 Super Duties will be next.

“As interest in alternative energy products continues to grow, consumers are looking for more powertrain options that are both environmentally friendly and fit their driving needs,” said Rob Stevens, a Ford engineer. “The flexibility of our vehicle platforms and chassis allows Ford to develop our own alternative fuel products or work with partners, like Azure Dynamics, to deliver consumers with the power of choice when purchasing a greener, more fuel efficient vehicle.”

Previously, Azure worked with Ford to electrify the Transit Connect and Econoline. A commercial plug-in F-Series would target a market of 100,000 vehicles per year, and the conversion will be aimed at larger commercial fleets that will eventually trickle down to regional sales. Currently, the F-550 is available with a compressed natural-gas variant, as well as the usual array of diesel and gasoline engines.

Ford Implements Strategies to Lower Cost of Hybrids

During the early days of hybrids, potential buyers worried about performance problems or the reliability of the battery pack. Those days are long gone, and hybrids have a proven track record of safety and reliability. Now, for Sherif Marakby, Ford's director of electrification programs and engineering, it’s all about bringing down the cost.

Fortunately, with each new generation of Ford’s hybrid system, the costs are dropping. According to Automotive News, the cost of the hybrid system in next year’s new C-Max Hybrid will be 30 percent less than the previous-generation hybrid technology in the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. And by the time the following generation hybrid is ready in a couple of years, Marakby believes he will have knocked it down by another 30 percent.
How is Ford achieving those cost reductions?

• Ford developed its own in-house battery system that will be manufactured at the automaker's Rawsonville, Mich., plant next year. Ford developed everything for the system, from the tooling to the wiring, sensors and controls. All the components are assembled by Ford in its facility. (Battery cells come from Compact Power.)
• Ford developed its own hybrid transmission, which will be manufactured at a suburban Detroit plant.
• Ford also brought system integration and software development in-house. The software can control battery and motors, as well as the total system, to achieve maximum efficiency.
• All the parts used for hybrids and other electric-drive vehicles are made common, and software and control systems are re-used as much as possible.

These efforts are already starting to bear fruit. When Ford priced the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid at the exact same amount as the gas version—$35,455, including shipping—the company expected about 15 percent of buyers to go for the hybrid version. Instead, nearly 25 percent are driving off the lot with the hybrid.
This sales performance gives Ford greater confidence in achieving its estimate that as many as 25 percent of all its sales will be a hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle by 2020.

FORD ELECTRIC VEHICLES COMING SOON!!

Ford announced recently that it would raise its annual U.S. production capacity for “electrified” vehicles from 35,000 to over 100,000 by 2013.

While the Focus EV is due later this year, the spotlight was also on four other hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Central among these will be Ford’s five-passenger C-Max Hybrid (pictured) and C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid which for the first time were announced that they would be offered in North America. A seven-passenger internal-combustion engine version slated for the U.S. however will not be offered.
The car has proven a hot seller overseas, and in a separate statement, Ford said it will increase C-Max production in Valencia, Spain to continue to fill strong European demand. Since its late 2010 launch, Ford said it has sold 70,000 units in Europe, and taken orders for 30,000 more.
The company said it is now convinced the U.S. market is ready for American-made versions which will complement a broadened selection of electrified vehicles.
“This is a big deal for us because we are seeing a huge growing appetite for fuel efficient green vehicles,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s group vice president of marketing, sales and service. “The number of people indicating fuel economy is the main reason continues to rise.”
The C-Max line is expected to compete with the Toyota Prius, Chevrolet Volt and Nissan LEAF. In all, Ford has committed $135 million to build its five electrified vehicles which include also a version of its Transit Connect van and another model not yet announced (possibly a hybridized 2013 Ford Escape crossover).
The initiative is said to be responsible for 220 new green technology jobs at three Michigan plants. These will include 170 positions at the Rawsonville and Van Dyke Transmission plants, and more than 50 new “electrified-vehicle engineers” which have come on board in Dearborn during the past year.
Ford however said it canceled plans for a North American seven-passenger C-Max “multi-activity vehicle” with a four-cylinder gasoline engine, meaning the C-Max will be one type or another of five-passenger hybrid only.
Estimated mileage for the new vehicles was not announced, but the C-Max Hybrid’s efficiency will reportedly exceed that of the Ford Fusion which is rated at 41 mpg.
Both the C-Max Hybrid and C-Max plug-in hybrid will utilize lithium-ion batteries. The latter will use a larger battery pack, but Ford did not specify capacity for either.
Ford did say the C-Max Hybrid will be able to travel at a higher all-electric speed than the Ford Fusion Hybrid’s 47 mph, although it did not say how much higher.
Another critical detail lacking in Ford’s press announcement was pricing, but it did say it will reduce projected MSRP thanks to an estimated 30-percent cut in production costs next year. Part of the cost savings is because Ford has designed the hybrids’ components in-house, and will assemble their systems itself.
In contrast, the transmission in the 2011 Ford Fusion, 2011 Escape and 2011 Lincoln MKZ are supplied by Aisin Seiki Co., of Japan.
Ford likewise developed its own battery systems that will be manufactured in Rawsonville in the suburbs of Detroit for the C-Max Hybrid, and plug-in version. Previously Ford’s hybrid batteries were made in Mexico.
“Both the C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi models will be built alongside the all-new 2012 Ford Focus and Focus Electric at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich.,” Ford said, “the first plant in the world to produce gasoline-powered vehicles, full-electric vehicles, hybrid and plug-in hybrids under one roof.”