Ford to Make Battery-Electric Powered Transit Connect Truck

Ford Motor Co.'s (F) Transit Connect commercial truck, due midyear in U.S. showrooms, will feature a battery-electric powered version in 2010 promising 100 miles per charge, the company said in a statement Monday.

This is the first time Ford has said which of its products will feature a battery-electric powered counterpart. The auto maker intends to introduce a battery-electric powered small car in 2011 followed by a plug-in hybrid vehicle in 2012. Ford is showing off the gas-powered Transit Connect, starting at $21, 475, at the Chicago Auto Show on Wednesday.

Ford was the last of the Detroit auto makers to put a name to its electric powered vehicle plans. General Motors Corp. (GM) is working on the Chevy Volt, a Malibu-size four-door vehicle while Chrysler LLC has begun developing the two- seater Dodge Circuit. Both vehicles are to be introduced in 2010.

The announcement is another image boost for the U.S. auto industry, eight days before GM and Chrysler are scheduled to submit viability plans in order to access more federal low-interest loans. Ford hasn't needed to access the loans, although Wall Street analysts have said it's likely to be only a matter of time as the economy worsens.

In the past three weeks, the Detroit auto makers have worked out a deal with the United Auto Workers unions to get rid of the "jobs bank" program. GM and Chrysler have also begun a new round of worker buyouts and Fiat SpA is reviewing a deal in which it will take a 35% ownership in Chrysler in exchange for giving the third-largest U.S.-based auto maker access to its small car technologies.

Ford's Transit Connect is aimed at the small business owner since it is closer to a van - 6-feet,8-inches tall - than a full-sized pickup truck. It has a two- liter, four-cylinder engine and the cargo-space can be fitted with shelving, racks and bins to fit the customer's need. The Transit Connect will be imported from Kocaeli, Turkey.

When introduced here this year, the Transit Connect vehicle will be the first platform offered on five continents. Ford wants to introduce more "global platforms" as part of its plan to quickly get new vehicles in more regions with only minor adjustments. Ford is making the same move with the Fiesta subcompact due in the U.S. next year.

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