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As expected, Ford brought the latest (and biggest incarnations of a Transit Connect utility van to a Chicago Automobile Show currently. The battery-powered Transit Connect Electric was up initial, maybe because it fits so well into Ford’s plan of vehicle electrification (see also: Focus Electric coming subsequent year, followed by the plug-in hybrid as well as a next-gen hybrid in 2012). At a very least, this is Ford’s initial battery-powered vehicle, pronounced product development clamp president Derrick Kuzak.

A unsentimental and battery-powered smoothness van A customary version was declared a North American Lorry of a Year this year uses a powertrain developed with help from Cerulean Dynamics Corporation. Called Force Drive, the 55 kW system uses a 28 kWh lithium ion battery container from Johns on Controls -Saft, has a 75 mile per hour top speed and can expostulate up to 80 mil es upon a charge. Will these specs be enough for customers? Praveen Cherian, module physicaleducationinstructor for the Transit Connect Electric, said in a statement that:
We’re excited about the potential for our electrified vehicles. People were a small wavering about hybrid technol ogy during first, though rightaway they accept it and welcome it. We expect a same will be true of electric vehicles.The Transit Connect Electric goes on sale in the U.S. after this year, so we’ll find out shortly. Some-more sum after the jump.

Gallery:Ford Transit Connect Eletric at Chicago Automobile Show

[Source: Ford]

FORD Transit BOND ELECTRIC BLURB OUTPOST HELPS FLEET CUSTOMERS GO UTTERLY GAS-FREE
Ford Transit Connect Electric, a pristine electric-powered version of a award-winning Transit Connect tiny van, goes into production in late 2010Ford is collaborating with Cerulean Dynamics Corporation to upfit a Transit Connect Electric with Azure’s Force DriveTM battery electric powertrain and Johnson Controls-Saft’s modernized lithium-ion battery technologyTransit Connect Electric is the initial product in Ford’s took off electrified car plan, and will be followed by the Focus Electric in 2011, the plug-in hybrid electric car in 2012 and next-generation hybrid record in 2012The all-electric, zero-emission Transit Connect Electric has targeted range of up to 80 miles per full charge, as well as will be rechargeable using possibly 240-volt or customary 120-volt outletsTransit Connect Electric is preferred for fleet owners which have well-defined routes of predictable distances as well as the executive place for daily rechargingCHICAGO, Feb. 9, 2010 – Ford Engine Company currently denounced the all-electric chronicle of a Ford Transit Connect – the 2010 North American Truck of the Year – during the Chicago Automobile Uncover and reliable the zero-emissions small outpost will be in swift operators’ hands after this year.

The 2011 Transit Connect Electric will use a Force Expostulate electric powertrain made and integrated by featureditem upfitter Azure Dynamics.

“Transit Connect Electric exemplifies how we have been leveraging our relations as good as our hybrid as well as advanced powertrain programs to bring energy-efficient technologies from a laboratory to the street,” said Lift Kuzak, Ford group vice president, Global Product Growth. “Not only is this an ideal vehicle for eco-conscious swift operators, it is an important partial of Ford’s future.”

In further to the Transit Connect Electric, Ford plans to bring 3 more electrified vehicles to market by 2012 – a Focus Electric in 2011, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle in 2012 and the next-generation hybrid in 2012.

Removing charged up and moving
Transit Connect Electric is well-suited for blurb fleets that travel predicted, short-range routes with frequent stop-and-go driving in urban as well as suburban environments and the central location for daily recharging. The vehicle, which will accelerate during a similar rate as a gas- powered Transit Connect and will have the top speed of 75 mph, has a targeted operation of up to 80 miles on the full assign.

Owners will have a option of recharging a Transit Connect Electric with possibly the standard 120V outlet or preferably the 240V assign station commissioned at the user’s base of operations for optimal recharging in 6 to eight hours. A transportable connective tissue which functions with both types of outlets will be accessible for recharging at both kinds of locations.

A vehicle’s assign pier is located on top of the passenger-side rear circle well. The onboard liquid-cooled 28-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack is charged by joining a charge port to a energy outlet. Inside a vehicle, an onboard horse converts a AC energy from the electric grid to DC energy to assign the battery container.

“We’re vehement about the potential for our electrified vehicles,” pronounced Praveen Cherian, module physicaleducationinstructor for the Transit Connect Electric, who added that today’s electric car buyers are similar to early adopters of hybrid vehicles. “People were a small hesitant about hy brid technology at first, though rightaway they accept it as well as embrace it. You design the same will be loyal of electric vehicles.”

Pushing upon electric energy
When a vehicle is handling, battery energy is provided to the expostulate motor through the electric powertrain’s motor controller. The motor controller uses throttle input from the motorist to convert DC energy granted by a battery into three precisely timed signals used to drive a motor.

The onboard DC/DC converter allows the vehicle’s main battery pack to charge a onboard 12V battery, which powers the vehicle’s various accessories, such as headlights, power steering and coolant pumps.

In the Transit Connect Electric, the battery pack has been well integrated but compromising interior passenger room and load space. A battery pack is approaching to final the life of the vehicle.

Collaborations are key
Transit Connect Electric builds on the existing business attribute between Ford and Cerulean Dynamics, as well as their shared knowledge with battery supplier, Johnson Controls-Saft.

“There is an increasing interest in electrified vehicles, as well as you are committed to bringing these vehicles to a marketplace,” said Nancy Gioia, Ford director of Tellurian Electrification. “Ford’s work with Cerulean and Johnson Controls-Saft to create a purely electric Transit Connect will allow us to offer swift business an one more choice for eco-friendly travel.”

Ash Playground, Mich.-based Cerulean Dynamics develops hybrid electric and electric drive technology for convey buses and commercial trucks, such as a BalanceTM Hybrid Electric, which is built on the Ford E-450 cutaway and strip framework for the medium-duty commercial car shred.

“The opportunity to work with Ford upon a Transit Connect Electric is a new thing enrichment for us at Cerulean and for a light-commercial car market,” pronounced Scott Harrison,

Cerulean Dynamics CEO. “For us, it’s an critical evolution of the existing relationship with Ford. From an industry standpoint, we have been saying smoothness fleet and utility car operators move to notasbig, some-more fuel-efficient vehicles.”

Cerulean Dynamics’ proprietary Force Drive battery electric powertrain will be a driving force in a Transit Connect Electric. Force Expostulate components have previously been deployed in more than 40 car integrations and have some-more than 25 million miles of on-the-road experience.

Johnson Controls-Saft was comparison by Cerulean Dynamics as the retailer for lithium-ion battery cells and battery packs for the Transit Connect Electric. Cerulean Dynamics as well as Ford both currently use Johnson Controls-Saft battery record for alternative products.

An preferred height
With a unique combination of car-like pushing dynamics, cargo genius, accessibility as well as low purchase as well as operation costs, the Transit Connect is an ideal choice for electrification.

The Transit Connect Electric is expected to suggest lower cost of operation, s ince recharging with electricity is generally less costly than refueling with gasoline. Users may also benefit from much reduce upkeep costs over a life of a car. Consider a following:
The series of components typical in an inner combustion engine and transmission are dramatically markeddown in an electric vehicle to just the couple of moving tools in the electric motor and transaxle, that results in much fewer parts to wear out or maintainElectric powertrains operate with plain state wiring, which have demonstrated low or no maintenance over the holdup of the productElectric vehicles have completely sealed cooling systems that do not require refilling, replacement or flushingElectric vehicles need no oil changes or tune-upsThere have been no belts to wear out or break and no spark plugs or injectors to clean or adjustThere is no exhaust system to reinstate and no glass fuel system to solidify or clogThe make use of of regenerative braking reduces wear and tear on stop pads
Common strengths
Although there are significant differences in between a Transit Connect Electric and its gas- powered twin, there have been most things in usual as well. Both models suggest:
135 cubic feet of cargo volume with 59.1 inches of floor-to-ceiling load height as well as 47.8 inches of load widt h in between the wheel archesLoad length the inexhaustible 72.6 inches, or some-more tha n six feet of cargo floor spaceSplit rear cargo doors that open at a sta ndard 180 degrees, or an optionally accessible 255 degreesLift-over height less than two feet when the car is unloadedPower-assisted rack-and-pinion steering allows a 39-foot curb-to-curb branch circle for maneuverability in parsimonious civic spacesBulkheads, racks, bins and alternative upfits can be churned, suited as well as configured to fit most specific blurb applications and needs
“With interest in eco-friendly vehicles stronger than ever among blurb as well as supervision fleet operators, the Transit Connect Electric promises to offer another unique resolution for their needs,” said Gerry Koss, Ford fleet marketing manager.