CLAYCOMO, Mo. – The Ford Motor Co. kicked off formal production Thursday of a hybrid version of its Escape sport utility vehicle, the world’s first gas-electric hybrid SUV and the first hybrid vehicle produced by an American automaker.
Bill Ford, Ford’s chairman and CEO, drove the Escape into a roomful of autoworkers at the company’s plant in suburban Kansas City, which will build 20,000 of the vehicles for the 2005 model year. Ford said providing a more fuel-efficient vehicle would keep the company competitive as more consumers consider gas prices and pollution when buying a car. “They don’t want to give up their SUVs, and we don’t think they should have to,” Ford said. “It gets them where they want to go with greater fuel efficiency and much lower emissions.”
The Escape joins the Toyota Prius and the hybrid version of the Honda Civic as the only gas-electric vehicles available in the United States.
Company officials said demand for the new Escape, which starts at $26,300 – about $3,300 more than the regular Escape – has been huge, with some dealers in California already taking orders and amassing waiting lists of 80 or more people. That mirrors the success of Toyota, which announced earlier this week that it would increase production of the Prius to 15,000 a month from the current 10,000. Toyota also plans to release hybrid versions of its Highlander and Lexus RX SUVs.
Ford officials said they were entering the hybrid market tentatively. Depending on how well the new Escape models sell, the company could increase production in future model years.
The regular Escape is a strong seller for Ford, with 167,668 vehicles sold last year in the United States, according to Autodata Corp. Ford sold 3.25 million vehicles in the United States during 2003.
The hybrid Escape uses a 200-pound, 330-volt battery pack to power the vehicle at low speeds and in stop-and-go traffic. A 2.3-liter gas-powered engine kicks in for faster speeds and to recharge the battery, which also captures energy that would otherwise be lost during braking.
Ford said the Escape gets up to 36 mpg in city driving and produces 30 percent fewer emissions than the regular Escape, which is already a low-emissions vehicle.
Environmental and consumer groups praised Ford for the new Escape, although some said Ford should build more of them and do more to help improve other brands, saying Ford has one of the lowest fleet fuel economy averages in the industry.
Associated Press
A 2005 Ford Escape hybrid is fitted with a 300-volt battery Thursday at the Ford assembly plant in Claycomo, Mo.
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