Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Ford Working with Smith Electric Vehicles to Bring Battery-Powered Commercial Van to North America
Dateline USA....
Ford Motor Company said Monday that it will work with Smith Electric Vehicles, the world's largest manufacturer of electric, road-going, commercial vehicles, to launch Ford's first fully electric vehicle in 2010--a zero-emissions version of Ford's Transit Connect.
It is expected to have a range of 100 miles and to be similar to Smith's Ampere, which is powered by two 24 kWh lithium batteries.
Ford has sold more than 600,000 Transit Connects across Europe. Smith already offers an all-electric version of the vehicle--a delivery man's dream--to fleet customers in Britain and other European markets.
Ford said the new all-electric Transit Connect will be for customers who do a lot of driving in cities and congested areas.
Smith, a unit of the UK's Tanfield Group, has been converting vehicles to battery electric power for nearly 90 years. Thousands of Smith vehicles around the world are in operation today.
Plugging Into the US
The Ford deal is not the only way Tanfield is plugging into the US market. The company is establishing Smith Electric Vehicles US Corporation (SEV US). Tanfield will own a 49% stake in SEV US in exchange for the North American rights to sell Smith vehicles and per-vehicle royalties.
As a 51% American-owned business, SEV US Corp will qualify for federal and regional funding for electric vehicle manufacturers. The Obama administration plans to spend $2 billion of federal government money to develop electric vehicles--considered by environmentalists to be the best way of reducing both greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on oil.
SEV US intends to commence production of the Smith Newton truck this year, with further all-electric lines to follow in the truck, van, and light van segments. The Newton is a medium-duty truck with a gross vehicle weights ranging from 16,500 pounds to 26,400 pounds. It is powered by a lithium-ion phosphate battery pack and is said to have a range of more than 150 miles.Monday, February 09, 2009
US Supply Glut Putting Downward Pressure on Oil
Joshua Schneyer reports:Dwindling fuel demand, with the United States mired in recession, has led to a record oil supply glut at the world's largest storage site -- a factor that could soon trigger another fall in crude prices.
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Inventories at the storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma -- the delivery point for U.S. crude futures -- have surged a whopping 139 percent to near the available capacity since early October, as sliding energy demand makes holding oil more profitable than refining it.
Analysts say that once the hub's tanks fill to the limit -- which at current rates could happen any time -- the scramble by suppliers to unload excess barrels could knock already depressed U.S. crude benchmark prices down further.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Dateline USA....
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