During a recent speech, Joe Bakaj, Ford’s vice president of powertrain engineering, said that about one in four new car buyers are willing to pay more for a fuel-efficient powertrain, provided the investment can be recouped in four years or less.
Ford, having introduced a range of EcoBoost direct injection and turbocharged engines, designed to provide performance of a large motor with the fuel economy of a smaller one, charges a premium for them (around $800-$1,200 in the U.S.). And yet buyers have been eagerly snapping them up, particularly on larger vehicles such as the Ford F-150, where EcoBoost installations now account for more than 40 per cent of total sales.
Bakaj said that besides improved gas mileage, other factors, namely range and ease of refueling also weigh in, thus if a vehicle boasts all three attributes it can qualify for volume sales, as in the case of the F-150.
Besides EcoBoost, the latest of which includes a tiny 1.0-litre version destined to go into a small car later this year, Ford is also pushing hybrid and plug-in hybrids.
However, although vehicles such as the new C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid aren’t yet able to meet the four-year return criteria, Bakaj says that won’t be an issue because Ford is standardizing manufacturing processes so versions of the same vehicle, namely conventional and hybrid powertrain models can be manufactured on the same assembly line at the same time.
The result is a significant reduction in development and tooling costs; with a net result of providing efficient, relatively affordable vehicles in response to customer demand.
