Ford Motor Co. said on Monday it earmarked 1 billion pounds (US$1.84 billion) to develop a range of environmentally friendly technologies for cars in Britain and is beginning production of hydrogen-powered engines for shuttle buses in the United States. "Environmental motoring has to go mainstream," not just be a lifestyle choice for a wealthy minority of customers, Lewis Booth, head of Ford s European division, said in a statement. "Ford is going green for a billion."

The British programme will cover such things as lightweight materials, advanced diesel and petrol engines, hybrids and biofuels, a spokesman said. One of the companys goals will be to have the Ford Focus car be able to drive 70 miles on a U.K. gallon of fuel (around 4 litres per 100 kilometre) and emit less than 100 grammes of carbon dioxide per km driven.

The technologies will be deployed across Ford brands in Europe including Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. The billion-pound campaign accelerates Ford of Europes research and development budget for environmental technology. It reflects a move by carmakers to boost fuel efficiency and environmental credentials at a time of near-record fuel prices.

In the United States, Ford kicked off production of a 6.8-liter V-10 engine that will power Fords E-450 hydrogen fueled shuttle buses. The shuttle buses are scheduled to be delivered to fleet customers later this year, first in Florida and then in other locations across North America, said Vance Zanardelli, chief engineer of hydrogen internal combustion engines at Ford. The buses, which produce near-zero emissions of regulated pollutants and greenhouse gases, are leased to customers for a two-to-three-year period for US$250,000, he added.

Ford last month said it plans to double the vehicles, to 500,000 from 250,000 annually, that run on alternative fuels such as corn-based ethanol in the United States by the end of the decade.
(Planet Ark, 18/07/2006)