The general car-buying public isn’t ready for fully electric vehicles. The reasons for the lack of interest in EVs right now include range anxiety and cost among other things. As emissions standards become more stringent around the world, Ford and other automakers were initially looking to EVs not because that is what the buying public wanted, but to meet these looming emissions standards.
Ford Europe has announced that its expanded range of Ford hybrids will allow it to comply with stringent European Union emissions standards set for 2020 – 2021 without having to risk paying any fines. This is in contrast to what competitors, like VW, are planning to do in the European market. VW and others are looking to full EVs to help them meet standards.
Ford hybrids are what the automaker will be leaning on to meet emissions standards, particularly plug-in hybrids like the new Kuga. Ford has stated that the plug-in Kuga hybrid emits 29 g/km of carbon dioxide under the NEDC testing regime. The big benefit for Ford with the plug-in Kuga hybrid comes in the EU credit system offered to automakers.
That system says that any car that emits less than 50 g/km of carbon dioxide will count as two vehicles in 2020, 1.67 vehicles in 2021, and 1.33 vehicles in 2022 and as a single vehicle when 2023 rolls around. The Kuga Ford Hybrid is impressive in how green it is; it emits only 1 g/km more than the smaller Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid emits, and much less than the similarly sized Peugeot 3008 plug-in hybrid that produces 49 g/km of emissions.
The EU mandates that are pushing automakers to EVs and plug-in hybrids stipulate that an automaker has to have an industry-wide fleet carbon dioxide emissions level of 95 g/km by 2021. However, different automakers have different emissions targets. Ford Europe’s target is 95.4 g/kg by 2021. Ford Europe was on the hook for fines in the 430 million euro range for 2021 before the unveiling of the Kuga, the latest of the Ford hybrids.
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Source: Automotive News Europe
Comments
How much does the Ford Mondeo Hybrid emit (sold as the Fusion Hybrid in the U.S.)? I have a 2014 Fusion Hybrid (a medium sized sedan) and in five years of ownership I get up to 54 MPG.