Ford Motor Company in conjunction with GE, will supply vehicle charging stations at Ford facilities nationwide, beginning with facilities in and around its headquarters. Ford will begin installing GE WattStation™ charging stations across its North American campuses to develop a workplace charging network at nearly every Ford facility in the United States and Canada.
“Ford’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond our fuel-efficient vehicles to include our daily workplace,” said Mike Tinskey, Ford director of vehicle electrification and infrastructure. “We know that a growing electrified vehicle infrastructure is key to making plug-in vehicles a viable option for more consumers. Ford is committed to doing its part to help develop that infrastructure.”
With the new charging network, Ford employees commuting to their jobs from up to 21 miles away in plug-in hybrid vehicles – Fusion Energi and C-MAX Energi – may be able to drive entirely on electric power to and from work. Furthermore, Ford plans to install electric vehicle charging stations at more than 60 of its offices, product development campuses and manufacturing facilities. Installation will begin at Ford’s southeast Michigan facilities and roll out across other facilities throughout 2014. The Charging service offered by Ford to its employees will be free for the first four hours of charging each day. By offering free charging, Ford is trying to encourage charging station sharing, enabling twice as many employees to charge at work for free.
Ford is also asking employees to use the MyFord® Mobile smartphone app to collect driving and charging information to help the company understand driving patterns and potentially influence future product design. Ford estimates it will cost about 50 cents to fully charge each vehicle.
Ford’s WattStation charging station installation differs from other workplace charging installations in that the units will be networked together. As a result, the company will be able to gather comprehensive information on electrified vehicle use, such as the number of hours vehicles are charging and the amount of CO2 reduced. It can then use actual station data to plan for additional station installations.
GE was the first major company to add C-MAX Energi vehicles to its fleet. Ford and GE are working with researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology to study GE fleet driving and charging habits, with the goal of improving all-electric driving and charging performance. Ford’s MyFord Mobile app provides drivers with real-time battery charge status and a value charging option that automatically schedules charging at lower-cost, off-peak electricity rates (based on your local utility’s participation).
To join a Google Hangout with Ford and GE, please visit: www.triplepundit.com/2014/03/live-chat-ford-motor-co/