GE to purchase 2,000 Ford C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrids; companies collaborate with Georgia Tech to accelerate alternative fuel vehicle adoption and research

20 November 2012

Ford Motor Company announced a collaboration with GE, in which GE will purchase 2,000 Ford C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrids for its fleet—Ford’s largest-ever plug-in electrified vehicle fleet sale. Ford will also jointly market GE’s alternative fuel infrastructure solutions: GE’s WattStation EV charging station and CNG in a Box natural gas fueling station with its commercial buyers.

For GE, the purchase of 2,000 Ford C-MAX Energi vehicles is another step in the company’s initiative to convert half of its global fleet to alternative fuel vehicles as part of its commitment to ecomagination. The addition of the Ford vehicles brings the number of alternative fuel vehicles in GE’s fleet to more than 5,000 in its goal of 25,000 vehicles.

The two companies will also work with researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology to study GE employee driving and charging habits, with the goal of improving all-electric driving and charging performance. Researchers will use Ford’s MyFord Mobile app with real-time battery charge status and value charging that automatically recharges at lower-cost, off-peak electricity rates.

Study findings will be shared with commercial customers to provide insights and help facilitate deployment of electric vehicles in their own fleets amid a growing electric vehicle infrastructure that now includes more than 10,000 public charging stations across the country.