UK Police Order Ford Flex-Fuel Vehicles
20 March 2006
Police departments in Avon and Somerset in the UK have ordered 15 Ford Focus Flexi Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) (earlier post) to help reduce CO2 emissions. This marks Ford’s fist customer sales of the flex-fuel vehicle in the UK.
A further 25 Ford Focus FFVs are destined for other members of the Somerset Biofuel Project. Ford, potential FFV customers, the ethanol supplier and the fuel retailer worked together in the county to create the UK’s first E85 fuel infrastructure. Plans are in place to produce ethanol from local wheat.
Ford is also in talks with other regional biofuel groups in Cornwall, East Anglia, Wales, the Midlands and Scotland. The Ford Focus FFV can run on ethanol or gasoline in any mix in the same fuel tank. The car is priced at £14,095 (US$24,731), delivers 125 hp and fulfils Euro 4 emission standards.
Avon and Somerset’s Ford Focus FFVs were converted to police emergency response vehicles at Ford’s Special Vehicle Preparations base in Essex. They were equipped with specialist equipment including emergency lights and sirens.
Ford has received other inquiries for Ford Focus FFV patrol cars from forces in West Yorkshire, Humberside and the Metropolitan Police.
| Comparative CO2 Emissions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Fuel | CO2 | % Reduction from gasoline |
| Ford Focus 1.6 (100 hp) | gasoline | 161 g/km | – |
| Ford Focus 1.6 (109 hp) | Diesel | 127 g/km | -21% |
| Toyota Prius | Gas-Electric | 104 g/km | -35% |
| Ford Focus 1.8 FF (125 hp) | E85 | 32 g/km1 | -75% |
| 1 Ford factors out the ethanol-derived CO2 to reflect “closed-loop” cycle. | |||
Is it me, or does the price listed in this article seem rather high for a Focus? I get the feeling that the usual MSRP in the US is around $13,000 to $16,000 depending on options, with the real sale price always a few grand lower. Does the $24,731 price reflect standard British markup and taxes? The police conversion? I can't imagine that the markup for FFV technology is that much -- by most accounts, FFV capability can be achieved on a standard modern gasoline engine with a few hundred dollars worth of sensors and parts.
I'd also be curious to know whose figures for ethanol-conversion efficiency (and associated CO2 reductions) Ford is using. That is especially a concern here, in that the British are thinking of using wheat for their ethanol production -- while most American numbers reflect the use of corn. Due to the difference, it might work out differently.
Posted by: NBK-Boston | 20 March 2006 at 11:42 AM
The Focus in the UK and Europe is not the same as the car here. It is a newer car with a platform shared with the Volvo S40.
Posted by: Tim Russell | 20 March 2006 at 01:40 PM
The latest Focus (shared with S40) has just been released this is true But in general cars cost over here in pounds the same numerical amount as dollars. ie a 16kUSD Focus costs 16kGBP over here. The old Focus is the same as the US car and cost just as much.
Rip off Britain.
Posted by: Ruaraidh | 21 March 2006 at 03:47 AM
I'd like to obtain contact details for the Regional Bio-Fuel groups mentioned for Wales.
Can anyone advise?
Posted by: Lyn Roberts | 04 April 2006 at 04:23 AM