Originally published November 4 2005
Ford's plan to increase hybrid production depends on parts suppliers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Lack of supply in Japan, where competitors are exhausting suppliers of hybrid parts, has induced Ford to look to other auto markets, namely Germany, so that it can carry forward its plans to increase hybrid production tenfold.
Ford Motor Co.'s plan to boost production of hybrids tenfold hinges on it finding more suppliers to produce key parts.
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Last week, Ford COO Jim Padilla complained that Japanese automakers have been grabbing most of the production of those key parts, which he called a "predatory approach."
The lack of supply has limited the number of hybrids Ford can offer, Padilla said.
Ford and other automakers are searching for other sources of hybrid technology, said Eric Fedewa, director of global powertrain forecasts for CSM Worldwide in Farmington Hills, Mich.
Those parts were a common sight at the Frankfurt auto show two weeks ago.
Siemens VDO Automotive touted its electric motors and controllers that could be combined to help create a hybrid powertrain.
Those suppliers also joined Valeo SA and Delphi Corp. in selling parts that would give vehicles start-stop and regenerative braking capabilities -- a milder form of hybrid powertrain at lower cost.
Meanwhile, Johnson Controls Inc. is using its work supplying nickel-metal-hydride batteries from Hannover, Germany, for hybrid buses as a launching pad to sell the technology to automakers.
Johnson Controls also is opening an r&d center in Milwaukee to develop lithium-ion batteries for hybrid autos.
Lithium-ion batteries offer improved power and longer life compared with other batteries.
"In the future, we see this being the technology of choice," Johnson Controls spokeswoman Debra Lacey said.
CSM Worldwide's Fedewa predicted that the need for more suppliers and lower costs will prompt Ford to use more starter-alternator systems as part of its hybrid strategy.
He said that those systems can be adapted easily to four- and six-cylinder engines.
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