Ford Motor to showcase solar hybrid Ford C-Max Solar Energi Concept

Ford Motor Company was up 0.45 per cent in pre-market trading today as it planned at this month's International CES gadget to show a solar-powered car that offered performance similar to that of a plug-in hybrid but with no requirement for a plug.

According to the firm, the C-MAX Solar Energi Concept car used a gasoline engine with a gizmo that acted like a magnifying glass to concentrate the sun's rays on the vehicle's roof-mounted solar panels. The automaker declared that anticipated combined city-highway mileage of the car was 100 miles (160 kilometers) per gallon.

According to the US automaker, by using solar power as an alternative to an electric plug, typical owners would cut their annual greenhouse gas emissions by four metric tons. The company said, it sold around 85,000 hybrid or electric vehicles in 2013, comprising 6,300 units of its C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid.

The company said in a release: Ford C-MAX Solar Energi Concept is first-of-its-kind sun-powered vehicle with the potential to deliver the best of a plug-in hybrid without depending on the electric grid for fuel

C-MAX Solar Energi Concept with a solar panel roof draws power from a special solar concentrator lens similar to a magnifying glass

By using renewable power, Ford C-MAX Solar Energi Concept is estimated to reduce the annual greenhouse gas emissions a typical owner would produce by four metric tons

"Ford C-MAX Solar Energi Concept shines a new light on electric transportation and renewable energy," said Mike Tinskey, Ford global director of vehicle electrification and infrastructure. "As an innovation leader, we want to further the public dialog about the art of the possible in moving the world toward a cleaner future."

C-MAX Solar Energi Concept, which will be shown at the 2014 International CES in Las Vegas, is a collaborative project of Ford, San Jose, California-based SunPower Corp and Atlanta-based Georgia Institute of Technology.