Ford UK To Invest £1 Billion To Reduce Emissions And Fuel Consumption
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LONDON 17 July 2006 – Ford Motor Company, the UK's leading automotive company, is to spend at least £1 billion developing a range of global environmental technologies in the UK for its Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo brands – the largest commitment ever to the environment by a carmaker in the UK.
When the engineering actions are complete, the Ford of Europe and Premier Automotive Group (PAG) fleet has the potential to save in an average year the same as the total annual CO 2 emissions of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.
This engineering programme doubles the rate of environmental spending in the past and is part of a broad strategy for the company's Ford of Europe and PAG business units that will deliver an extensive list and variety of technologies including lightweight, hybrid electric and bio-fuel vehicles.
This will see unparalleled collaboration between the 9,500 engineers that work at Ford, Jaguar and Land Rover R&D centres in the UK and the broader strategy will also bring together engineers from Volvo in Sweden and Ford's engineering bases in Europe and worldwide. Their combined actions will deliver over 100 models and derivatives that offer improved emissions or fuel economy performance, including for example, a regular Ford Focus, Britain 's best-selling car, capable of more than 70 miles per gallon.
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"Climate change is one of the greatest single challenges facing the auto industry and society today," said Ford of Europe and Premier Automotive Group Chairman and CEO Lewis Booth speaking at today's announcement in London. "A broad business strategy that serves all our brands is the only way we can achieve the level of improvement in emissions and fuel economy required.
"We are not going to introduce just one or two high-profile green cars that sell in relatively low numbers and leave it at that. To tackle this issue, we are getting our 3,700 R&D people in Essex, our 2,000 engineers in Coventry and our 3,300 engineers in Warwickshire to work together. By pooling our engineering investment, our brands will develop a broader range of technologies, available faster than they could afford individually. And by deploying these technologies across the breadth of our product range – mass market and premium products, passenger cars and commercial vehicles – we can deliver far more significant reductions in the total amount of CO 2 generated by our total vehicle fleet. We can also help reduce our customers' consumption of fossil fuels, which saves them money."
Booth also highlighted what he described as the "multiplier factor".
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Booth continued: "We have already invested significantly and made great progress over the last decade. Our fleet is significantly cleaner today than ever before. For example, t he current Ford Focus 1.8-litre TDCi diesel model has better performance, improved fuel economy and produces 26 percent less CO 2 than an equivalent Ford Escort 1.8 TCi model from 1998. With the further technology plans we have, our fleet in the next decade will use literally millions of tonnes less CO 2 over its lifetime on the road than our fleet does today.
By working together, the brands have developed a coordinated and collaborative business response that will include an unprecedented level of spending in the UK – by Ford or any other car maker – dedicated to improving fuel economy and tailpipe emissions. It is further evidence of the significant mindset shift at the company, led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William Clay Ford, and will transform the spending at the three main UK R&D centres – Dunton in Essex, Gaydon in Warwickshire and Whitley in Coventry.
Global competitiveness
Ford is not only market leader in sales but also has the largest manufacturing and engineering presence of any car maker in the UK, responsible for some 80 percent of the UK's total automotive R&D investment, according to official UK Government figures. The UK 's competitiveness in the global marketplace is of critical importance to the company's operations and Ford is keen to see the development of high-skilled, low-carbon expertise in Britain to secure on-going competitive advantage for the country and Ford's workforce. This needs to be reinforced by a business environment that is supportive of R&D and skills investment.
The role of Government, oil companies and consumers
Speaking at today's event, Rt. Hon. Douglas Alexander MP, Secretary of State for Transport said: "There is no bigger long-term challenge facing us than climate change. That is why it is very important for all of us - government, business and individuals to act. Today's announcement from Ford is very welcome. It is good news for the environment, British jobs and the wider economy."
Lewis Booth represented the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) on the European commission-led CARS21 High Level Group that last year recommended an integrated approach between car makers, oil companies, governments and consumers to reduce CO 2 emissions. Booth again repeated this call, "Ford is committed to playing its role in developing technology solutions in cars. We are doubling the proportion of our spending here in the UK that goes into developing and deploying environmental technologies. But we call on all stakeholders to play their part in a holistic approach to develop technological solutions in cars, fuels and transport infrastructure to address climate change.
"We need governments to set the right legislative and fiscal framework to allow competing environmental technologies to flourish without distorting the marketplace. That means focusing incentives on the CO 2 outcomes rather than the vehicle or fuel technologies that deliver them. It also means more engagement with consumers to encourage a shift in behaviour over time.
"It is critical that taxation incentives are intelligently applied across all car segments and over time to encourage sustained improvement. Dramatic tax changes which distort the market or unfairly target specific market segments will not achieve the results we all want to see."
Ford of Europe and Premier Automotive Group environmental technology plan Ford's Chief Technical Officer Richard Parry Jones said: "The size of the challenge we face is enormous. There is a body of scientific work that shows globe is heating up, but there is no agreement on the level of CO 2 stabilisation required. Furthermore, it is clear that the car industry – even the transport sector as a whole – is not solely responsible. For example, it's been estimated that emissions from just heating, hot water, lighting and appliances in an average UK household are more than twice as high as emissions from the household use of personal transportation. It is therefore clear that action must be taken in all areas of life and all industrial sectors if we are to meet this challenge. At Ford, we recognise our responsibility to act.
"We believe we have to follow a multiple technology strategy for three reasons. First, there is no single technology on the horizon that will enable the automotive industry to play its full part in stabilising levels of atmospheric CO 2. Second, we also cannot say for certain which way the market will go in the future and how much regional differences will play a part. Ultimately it will be customers who decide which technologies best suit their needs. And finally, as vehicles get cleaner and cleaner the technological challenge to eek out further improvement increases. By deploying multiple technologies we are able to make a series of small and medium size gains and leverage our range of vehicles and sales volume.
"This approach has the benefit of enabling us to vary our product offering to meet the needs of a range of customers in different market segments and to address the differing market preferences around the world. We will be able to build cars with technology bundles to improve the gains we can deliver and an array of technology will also mean we have the flexibility to adapt and respond quickly to market place developments and new legislative frameworks.
"By applying the technologies we develop across our product portfolio we will be offering customers more than 100 models and derivatives with improved tailpipe emissions or fuel economy performance over the next six years."
To deliver these new vehicles and environmental actions, Ford and its brands will focus on the following key technology areas:
1. An all-new generation of lightweight aluminium vehicles and other weight saving actions:
Jaguar has already launched two of the industry's first mass produced all-aluminium monocoque vehicles; the Jaguar XJ saloon and Jaguar XK sports car. The weight saving of an aluminium Jaguar XJ "body-in-white" is around 40 percent compared to the previous generation steel body. The engineering expertise in working with aluminium has become a core competency for Jaguar and can be shared by other members of the Ford group. A further all-new generation of lightweight premium vehicles will be developed among Ford's premium brands. This will deliver CO 2 savings from the weight reduction of the base vehicles but will also open up a virtuous circle of component weight reductions and consequent CO 2 improvements as we are able to reduce the loads on components.
2. Direct injection gasoline and advanced diesel engines and new transmissions:
Five all new petrol engines will be offered with advanced direct injection technology (fuel injected directly into the chamber for more efficient combustion with much finer control). Selectively, these will be further enhanced with pressure charging, stop/start capability and advanced valve actuation. This will enable customers to choose smaller engines than they do today while enjoying the same performance and improved drivability, but with a CO 2 saving per unit of up to 20 percent. Three advanced diesel engines will be launched with further CO 2 improvements of five to 10 percent per unit. Plans also include four new and advanced transmissions that through more efficient matching of gearing to engine speed will deliver CO 2 savings per unit of five to 10 percent.
3. Hybrid electric systems tailored for different customers, regions and market segments:
Ford is a leader in the development and commercialisation of hybrid technology in its vehicles in North America, other brands in the Ford group will benefit from this expertise. Hybrid vehicles will also play a role in the company's multi-technology strategy for Europe. Different driving conditions and the already high level of market acceptance for diesel technology will likely mean different couplings of engine and hybrid system are required. For example, micro-hybrid diesels provide a better cost-benefit proposition to customers than full gasoline hybrids, and are therefore the more compelling option for the European market. The company will introduce a variety of systems deploying different levels of hybridisation (micro/mild/full) coupled with either diesel or gasoline engines depending on customer acceptance in different global markets and the appropriateness for different vehicle types. (CO 2 saving per unit; 8 percent for micro-hybrid, 25 percent for full hybrid).
4. Alternative fuels capability:
Some of the greatest improvements in CO 2 emissions from personal transportation will come from the further development and widespread availability of bio-fuels, especially so-called second generation bio-fuels. Ford is committed to offering customers vehicles that take advantage of bio-fuel technologies and to working with oil companies to optimise and accelerate the development of these fuels. Ford is already a leader in flexi-fuel E85 ethanol vehicles in both the United States and in certain European markets such as Sweden where 80 percent of Ford Focus and Ford Focus C-Max and 16 percent of Volvo S40 and Volvo V50 sales are flexi-fuel. Further core models across the brands will be developed with E85 capability. (delivering "well to wheels" improvement of 30 to 80 percent depending on the source of the ethanol.) Furthermore, Ford has been working with BP on several projects that look at cars and fuels as a system to discover the most effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas and other emissions. Phil New, a Senior Vice President at BP said: "R&D underpins Ford's activities to deliver environmental sustainability in the transportation sector - both on its own and with industry and technology leaders such as BP. Both companies recognize that while existing bio-fuels will continue to play a role in the gasoline and diesel markets, more investment in R&D is required to deliver advanced bio-fuels solutions for the future."
5. A range of vehicle efficiency improvements and technologies to improve driver behaviour:
A set of driver information systems and selectable driving modes will be introduced allowing the driver to optimise the operation of the vehicle to maximise the benefits of the fuel economy technologies. A range of efficiency actions that look at any waste in vehicle systems such as improving warm up times, cutting out drag and reducing loads by smart switching of systems, reducing pumping and hydraulic losses and looking at each system with a view to improving its interaction with the rest of the vehicle (CO 2 saving per unit of three percent).
