Ford Unveils C-Max Electric and Plug-In Hybrid at Detroit Auto Show

This electric troika demonstrates a push by Ford to dominate the electric vehicle market in the United States and the world. It faces existing competition from the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt, which today was named the North American Car of the Year for 2011. Ford is already in the market with the electric Ford Transit Connect.

Here are highlights of the three vehicles as provided by Ford.

Based on the all-new Ford Focus mainstream vehicle, the Focus Electric will offer adequate range to cover the majority of daily driving habits plus a mile-per-gallon equivalent better than Chevrolet Volt and competitive with other battery electric vehicles. It will charge in half the time of a Nissan Leaf.

Based on the new Ford C-Max five-passenger multi-activity vehicle, the C-Max Energi targets more than 500 miles of driving range using the battery and engine. It delivers better charge-sustaining fuel economy than the Chevrolet Volt.

The full hybrid variant of C-MAX is targeted to deliver better fuel economy than Ford Fusion Hybrid, the most fuel-efficient sedan in America. It also leverages the company’s powersplit hybrid architecture and uses a lighter, smaller lithium-ion battery system.

The three new models leverage Ford’s global C-car platform and will be built alongside the all-new Ford Focus at the company’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., with production powered in part by one of the largest solar energy generator systems in the state. Ford will build the new C-MAX Energi and Hybrid models for European markets at its plant in Valencia, Spain, as previously announced.

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