Published March 28, 2012
By Philippe Crowe
Ford Fusion Energi.
Ford’s team of more than 1,000 engineers working on hybrid and electrification programs has grown so fast that the company announced today the conversion of its 285,000-square-foot Advanced Engineering Center in Dearborn, Mich., to electrified vehicle development.
In the past five years, Ford has doubled the size of the team working on fuel-saving technologies like EcoBoost turbocharged gasoline engines, hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles globally. Ford also continues to hire for further fuel-saving advancements.
The new jobs are part of Ford’s plans to add more than 12,000 hourly and salaried jobs by 2015 in the United States. The company also has announced it is tripling production capacity of its hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles in the U.S. next year compared with 2011.
Ford’s upcoming Fusion is a good example of how it will offer new powertrains and technology.
The company's 2013 Fusion offerings will include a choice of two EcoBoost four-cylinder engines, a normally aspirated four-cylinder engine, a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid.
As for the 2013 Fusion 1.6-liter EcoBoost, it's rated at a projected 37 mpg highway, which would make it America’s most fuel-efficient non-rechargeable midsize sedan. The 2013 Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid (pictured) aims to become the world’s most fuel-efficient midsize sedan with a projected 100 MPGe rating. The 2013 Fusion Hybrid is expected by Ford to become the world’s most fuel-efficient non-rechargeable midsize sedan with 47 mpg.
Ford's Advanced Engineering Center is located within the company’s Henry and Edsel Ford Research & Engineering Center, the 500-acre technical complex in Dearborn that opened in 1953 and serves as the home for research and engineering efforts.