Ford Europe will launch a new ‘ECOnetic’ range of ultra-low CO2 emission cars at next month’s Frankfurt motor show.
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These cars will use the latest common-rail diesel powertrains with features engineered to reduce CO2 emissions. The first to be launched in early 2008 will be the Focus ECOnetic, which, Ford said, promises to deliver best-in-class CO2 emissions for conventional powertrain technology at just 115g/km.
“Although all of our current European models are already highly competitive in terms of CO2, we know that more and more car buyers seek the lowest possible emissions as a key ‘why-buy?’,” said Ford of Europe president and CEO John Fleming in a statement.
“By launching specific models, with dedicated ECOnetic badging to indicate ultra-low CO2 results, we will give a clear alternative to those customers who prioritise low emissions performance.
The Focus version, powered by the 109PS, 1.6-litre Duratorq TDCi engine with standard diesel particulate filter (developed and built jointly with PSA), delivers an average fuel consumption of 65.7mpg and average CO2 emission of 115g/km.
“The challenge for the engineering team was to deliver the maximum reduction in CO2 using available and affordable techologies,” said Ford’s medium car line director Gunnar Herrmann.
The starting point for achieving these results was to reduce drive resistances and improve aerodynamics. By lowering the vehicle, adding an aerodynamics kit and using 195/65R15 tyres, a drag coefficient (cd) of 0.31 was achieved.
A new measure to reduce driving resistance, used for the first time here, is the introduction of new low-viscosity transmission oil developed by BP. Under testing, the efficiency benefits were found to be so significant that this new transmission oil is to be introduced in other Ford products in the C and CD segments.
Ford added that it would launch ethanol-compatible Flexifuel versions of its Mondeo, Galaxy and S-Max in Europe early next year.
