Ford's Approach to Urban Mobility: Catalyst for Learning, Collaboration, and Action

As mobility models change, so do the needs of our customers and potential customers. For several years, Ford has worked with a wide range of academic and public- and private-sector partners to explore sustainable mobility issues, advance thinking and catalyze on-the-ground projects to test new approaches to urban mobility (see What Is New Mobility?). Our first such projects were in Cape Town, South Africa; Chennai, India; and Atlanta, Georgia.

The insights we've gained from this work have helped us to understand the forces that are shaping our markets, our role in addressing mobility challenges and the opportunities these trends present for us (see Mobility Challenges and Opportunities). In particular, we have gained insight into the mobility needs of urban residents, the institutions that must work together to forge solutions and the range of technical solutions and their strengths and weaknesses. These lessons are reflected in our urban mobility methodology, which can be applied to a variety of settings and challenges. This equips us as a company to respond to rapidly changing needs for mobility by offering new products and services.

Collaboration to Support Electrification

We are using what we've learned to support the effort to build markets for electric vehicles in the United States. These vehicles will play an important role in reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from the transportation sector. They can be deployed in various ways as part of urban mobility solutions. But, like the creation of integrated mobility systems, the manufacturing, distribution and sales of electric vehicles will require new business models. Multiple technologies and industries will need to converge to marry vehicles and infrastructure, utility services and information technology. Transportation and utilities will become interdependent. City leaders will need to take a system-wide approach to develop clean, green, "smart" and sustainable cities (see figure below).

With rising concern over carbon emissions from private vehicles and renewed emphasis on green transportation and infrastructure, urban leaders are looking for creative solutions to enhance transit use and reduce car use by linking bicycles, electric bikes and scooters, car sharing, car rental and ridesharing. With help from economic stimulus funds, they are poised to increase investment in electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, including cars, trucks, conventional buses, trolley buses, express buses and all forms of rail, including streetcars, light rail and heavy rail.

We are poised to work with these leaders by providing technology as well as experience catalyzing mobility partnerships. On the technology side, Ford will launch its first 21st century electric vehicle, the electric Transit Connect targeted at commercial markets, in 2010. We are developing this battery electric vehicle (BEV) in partnership with Azure Dynamics Vehicles, a leading electric adapter of commercial vehicles. In 2011, we will introduce a Focus BEV, called the Focus Electric, developed in collaboration with Magna International. Both of these BEVs will be ideal for customers who routinely travel relatively short distances (e.g., 80–100 miles) between charges. In North America, we are also planning to introduce a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) commercially in 2012, along with our next-generation hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technology. We already have a test fleet of PHEVs on the road in partnership with more than a dozen utility companies and other collaborators. These vehicles will also be introduced in Europe by 2013.

Ford has also been a leader in deploying vehicle communication and connectivity technologies, beginning with the SYNC® system. These technologies provide a platform for future communication between electric vehicles and "smart" electric grids and mobility information systems. In early 2010, we announced that we are collaborating with Microsoft on new energy-management software that will help customers determine when and how to most efficiently and affordably recharge BEVs and PHEVs, while giving utilities better tools for managing the expected changes in energy demand. Ford is the first automaker to announce the use of this new technology, called Hohm™, which will be used in the Focus Electric starting next year.

Several Ford functions – including the Sustainability and Environmental Policy group, Fleet Sales and Sustainable Mobility Technologies – are working together with a range of partners to deploy fleets of electric vehicles over the next five years. Our aim is not only to provide vehicles but to serve as a trusted partner in developing integrated solutions.

During 2009, we helped to catalyze urban mobility collaborations in Richmond, Virginia; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and Los Angeles, California, while continuing our work in Atlanta. These collaborations focused on developing proposals for integrated urban mobility demonstration projects that incorporate electric vehicles as one of multiple transportation options. The organizations involved have included city and state agencies, utilities, transportation providers and others. These efforts will help to build the critical mass of electric vehicle sales that will be needed to help overcome a range of challenges to widespread electric vehicle use, including infrastructure, affordability, battery technology and public policy (see Electrification: A Closer Look for more discussion of challenges and solutions).

In Seattle, Washington, for example, we were a sponsor of a major conference called "Beyond Oil: The Sustainable Communities Initiative," organized by the Cascadia Center for Regional Development, a Seattle organization focused on regional transportation and sustainable development issues. The forum brought together city leaders, academic institutions, information technology providers and others to focus on solutions for more sustainable mobility in the Seattle region.

We also continue to support research into and development of mobility technologies. In Atlanta, for example, we supported students at Georgia Tech who developed technology that allows users to unlock shared bikes on the Georgia Tech campus using a cell phone. This technology adds flexibility and convenience to the bike-share concept.

In 2010 and beyond, we will continue to collaborate with our key partners (see Key Partners) as well as organizations in several U.S. cities that are committed to pursuing new mobility solutions.