By Alisa Priddle, Detroit Free Press –
DETROIT — Ford said the C-Max Energi, which will be its first plug-in hybrid when it hits showrooms later this year, can run for more than 20 miles on electricity alone.
That is nearly double the range of the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid, Ford said of the C-Max Energi. A gasoline engine extends the hybrid’s range to 550 miles.
The five-passenger C-Max Energi has been certified at the equivalent of 95 mpg in combined city/highway driving. Pricing has not been announced.
Ford will also offer a $25,995 C-Max hybrid with a smaller battery pack that is not a plug-in.
The C-Max will be built at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., that makes the Ford Focus and added the Focus Electric in December. The C-Max hybrid goes on sale this fall and is expected to get 47 mpg in city driving.
The new Fusion midsize car family, coming this fall, will include a hybrid and later this year will add an Energi plug-in hybrid as well.
Ford will offer five vehicles with some degree of electrification this year.
“Ford’s electrified vehicles offer a great combination of efficiency, performance, technology and affordability that we believe will help spur adoption of these advanced vehicles,” Kevin Layden, director of Ford electrification programs and engineering, said in a statement.
