Although Ford has no plans to mass produce a plug-in hybrid for the next five to ten years, the Dearborn-based automaker has delivered the country’s first flexible fuel plug-in hybrid to the Department of Energy. In all, Ford plans to lease 20 flex-fuel Escape plug-in hybrids to the DOE.
Developed with Southern California Edison and the Electric Power Research Institute, the Escape is powered by lithium-ion batteries and is capable of running on gasoline or E85. The Johnson-Controls/Saft-sourced batteries have enough zap to give the Escape a 30 mile all-electric range – at speeds up to 40 mph – with the gas motor kicking in when the batteries are 70 depleted.
When powered by E85, Ford claims the Escape plug-in can achieve an astounding 88 mpg in the city and 50 mpg on the highway. Compared to a conventional gas vehicle, the Escape plug-in reduces CO2 emissions by 60 percent – a number that grows to 90 percent when cellulosic ethanol is used.
Although the Ford Escape flex-fuel plug-in hybrid does sound promising, don’t expect to see one at your local Ford dealer until at least 2013.
