- Ford regards environmental sustainability as one of the most important issues facing the automotive industry.
- Ford's goal is to remove the automobile from the environmental debate by developing sustainable mobility solutions to meet the expectations of current and future generations.
SHANGHAI, Oct. 11, 2004 - Ford Motor Company, already in its second century of business, is redoubling its efforts to preserve the environment and its precious natural resources for future generations.
"We believe that improved sustainability performance is not just a requirement, but a tremendous business opportunity," says Susan Cischke, Ford Motor Company vice president, Environmental and Safety Engineering. "For Ford, sustainability is about far more than our products. It's about how we locate, plan and build industrial manufacturing plants, the way we design and make our products, how our products perform during their lifecycle, and the impact they have at the end of their useful life."
Ford has a rich history of environmental commitment. The most recent highlights include:
- The new Ford Escape Hybrid, the world's first hybrid SUV currently on sale in dealer showrooms in the United States, is the cleanest and most fuel efficient SUV in the world. It uses a combination of gasoline and electric power to deliver more than 56 kms (35 miles) per gallon in city driving without compromising versatility or performance. The hybrid system also meets the strictest emissions standards.
- In addition to the Escape Hybrid, Ford will market a hybrid version of the Mercury Mariner subcompact in 2006, and a hybrid midsize car after that.
- In late September, Ford unveiled an advanced new hydrogen internal combustion powered Ford H2ICE-450 shuttle bus. The Ford H2ICE-450 is a Ford E-450 chassis cab, with a shuttle bus body and a 6.8-liter Triton V-10 engine fueled with hydrogen. Ford is the only automaker active in developing advanced gasoline hybrid-electric vehicles, H2ICE vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles.
- Ford also celebrated the production of a new Focus Fuel Cell Vehicle in late September. The Focus Fuel Cell Vehicle uses a fuel cell powered by a Ballard Power Systems and is hybridized with the addition of a nickel metal-hydride battery pack and a brake-by-wire electro-hydraulic series regenerative braking system. The fuel cell converts chemical energy into electric energy using hydrogen fuel and oxygen from air. Ford is building an evaluation fleet of Focus FCVs for placement in demonstration programs in the United States, Canada and Germany. Additionally, Ford is working with British Petroleum to build a network of hydrogen fueling stations in these markets to support the vehicles.
- Another recently completed project is the renovation of the Ford Rouge Center. The goal was to transform the Rouge Complex - which was built more than 85 years ago - into a model of sustainable manufacturing. The renovations included a new lean and green manufacturing facility, the Dearborn Truck Plant, which recently began producing F-150 pickup trucks.
- Ford Motor Company was a founding member of the Chicago Climate Exchange. The goal of the market is to reduce participants' carbon dioxide emissions in a cost-effective, market-driven manner. Companies who have joined voluntarily commit to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases by 4 percent below the average of the 1998-2001 baseline by 2006.
