Auto News 5

Well, well, it seems American drivers are now caught up in the electric car buzz. After Nissan announced a LEAF shortage in the U.S., Ford reported electrified vehicle sales of 46,197 units through June -- more than 400% higher than the volumes of a year ago.

In order to remain competitive in the future, Ford will expand its electrification engineering team by nearly 50%, growing to 500 salaried employees, and invest an additional $50 million in electrified product development and testing centres in Dearborn, Michigan.

Enhancements to all-electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid vehicles will include:

• Increasing the maximum pure electric speed from 100 km/h to 137 km/h;
• Optimizing the climate control system to minimize use of the air conditioning compressor and reduce the energy used in cold weather operation;
• Reducing engine warm-up times by up to 50% to enable electric-only driving and engine shutdown at stops sooner after cold starts;
• Reducing the electric fan speed as a function of coolant temperature to minimize the fan's energy consumption;
• Optimizing the use of active grille shutters to reduce aerodynamic drag.

Products wearing the Blue Oval badge aren't the only ones to enjoy a boost, mind you. Strong demand has led Lincoln to increase the production mix of MKZ Hybrid from 20% to 40% of total MKZ production.

Photo: Ford