GE, Ford to collaborate on alternative fuel vehicles

GE has announced a collaboration with Ford Motors in which the company will purchase 2,000 new Ford C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrids for its fleet, while Ford will jointly market GE's WattStation charging station and CNG in a Box to its commercial customers and provide new alternative fuel vehicles for use at GE's Vehicle Innovation Center.

The two companies will also collaborate with researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology on data collection and analysis on GE's fleet in order to add even greater efficiencies to electric driving and charging.

For GE, the purchase of the 2,000 Ford C-MAX Energi vehicles is a step in the company's commitment to converting half of its global fleet to alternative fuel vehicles as part of its commitment to ecomagination. The addition of the Ford vehicles brings the number of alternative fuel vehicles in GE's fleet to more than 5,000 toward its goal of 25,000 vehicles. To date, GE employees have driven approximately 18 million miles in the company's alternative fuel vehicles, saving about $2 million in gasoline costs and reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 12 million pounds.

Mark Vachon, GE vice president of ecomagination, said, ''We are focused on providing our customers and our fleet with more economically and environmentally efficient vehicles. The Ford C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid is a great addition to our expanding fleet of alternative fuel vehicles.''

The Ford C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid provides a 21-mile electric-only range, a 108-mpg city EPA rating and a 620-mile single-tank driving range. GE will begin integrating the Ford C-Max Energi into its fleet this month.

''Ford is launching six new electrified vehicles – a big bet that fuel prices will continue rising and lead to more demand for advanced fuel-efficient vehicles,'' says Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. ''We are pleased to partner with GE, a company that is charting a similar course, to promote advanced technology and energy savings.''