xcel
10-06-2006, 04:01 PM
Ford has stated its desire to become a world leader in hybrid vehicle technology. (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061006/BUSINESS01/610060347/1014/BUSINESS01)
Jason Roberson - Detroit Free Press - Oct. 6, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2007_Ford_E-Series_Commercial_Van.jpg
2008 Ford E-Series Commercial Vans will be available with a hybrid drivetrain.
Ford Motor Co. will be the first Detroit automaker to sell hybrid commercial vans in North America, after signing an agreement Thursday with a Toronto-based supplier.
Azure Dynamics Corp., a supplier of hybrid gas-electric powertrains for commercial and military vehicles, will build a hybrid system for Ford's E-350 and E-450 commercial chassis by early 2008.
Hybrids are a growing segment and Ford trails only Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. in bringing the fuel-efficient vehicles to market.
"Ford has stated its desire to become a world leader in hybrid vehicle technology," Azure Dynamics Chairman and CEO D. Campbell Deacon said in a statement. "We are excited to work on this product."
Through September, combined U.S. sales of hybrids totaled 193,170, according to J.D. Power and Associates.
That number is up significantly from the 141,024 hybrids sold in all of 2005.
And competition in the hybrid niche is escalating. This week, General Motors Corp., DaimlerChrysler AG and BMW Group AG opened their Hybrid Development Center in Troy to work together on developing powertrains to compete with Ford, Toyota and Honda.
Azure, whose stock is traded on exchanges in Toronto and London, has built hybrid powertrains for nine years for customers in mail and parcel delivery, taxi services, beverage delivery, packaged-goods delivery, utility services and shuttle-bus operations.
In August, Azure signed an agreement to produce hybrid shuttle buses for StarTrans, a business division of commercial bus manufacturer Supreme Corp. with assembly operations in Goshen, Ind.
The U.S. Postal Service in Boston also uses Azure's hybrid powertrains in its vehicles.
Jason Roberson - Detroit Free Press - Oct. 6, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2007_Ford_E-Series_Commercial_Van.jpg
2008 Ford E-Series Commercial Vans will be available with a hybrid drivetrain.
Ford Motor Co. will be the first Detroit automaker to sell hybrid commercial vans in North America, after signing an agreement Thursday with a Toronto-based supplier.
Azure Dynamics Corp., a supplier of hybrid gas-electric powertrains for commercial and military vehicles, will build a hybrid system for Ford's E-350 and E-450 commercial chassis by early 2008.
Hybrids are a growing segment and Ford trails only Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. in bringing the fuel-efficient vehicles to market.
"Ford has stated its desire to become a world leader in hybrid vehicle technology," Azure Dynamics Chairman and CEO D. Campbell Deacon said in a statement. "We are excited to work on this product."
Through September, combined U.S. sales of hybrids totaled 193,170, according to J.D. Power and Associates.
That number is up significantly from the 141,024 hybrids sold in all of 2005.
And competition in the hybrid niche is escalating. This week, General Motors Corp., DaimlerChrysler AG and BMW Group AG opened their Hybrid Development Center in Troy to work together on developing powertrains to compete with Ford, Toyota and Honda.
Azure, whose stock is traded on exchanges in Toronto and London, has built hybrid powertrains for nine years for customers in mail and parcel delivery, taxi services, beverage delivery, packaged-goods delivery, utility services and shuttle-bus operations.
In August, Azure signed an agreement to produce hybrid shuttle buses for StarTrans, a business division of commercial bus manufacturer Supreme Corp. with assembly operations in Goshen, Ind.
The U.S. Postal Service in Boston also uses Azure's hybrid powertrains in its vehicles.