Ford Fusion Hybrid

The Ford Fusion Hybrid is a gasoline-electric hybrid powered version of the mid-size Ford Fusion sedan developed by the Ford Motor Company, and launched to the U.S. market in March 2009 as a 2010 model, together with its twin the Mercury Milan Hybrid. The Fusion Hybrid is manufactured at Ford's Hermosillo Stamping & Assembly plant, located in Sonora, Mexico. Ford set a modest sales target of about 25,000 vehicles a year for the Fusion Hybrid and the similar Mercury Milan. In January 2010 the Fusion Hybrid won the 2010 North American Car of the Year Award at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ratings for the Ford Fusion Hybrid are 41 miles per US gallon (5.7 L/100 km; 49 mpg-imp) for city and 36 miles per US gallon (6.5 L/100 km; 43 mpg-imp) for highway. When driving on electric-only mode (EV mode) the Fusion can achieve 47 mph and up to 2 miles of continuous EV driving under ideal conditions. A full tank delivers 700 miles (1,126.5 km) in city driving. The hybrid electric version of the Fusion was announced at the 2005 North American International Auto Show, along with the public introduction of the original 2006 Fusion. At that time Ford announced that the hybrid version was scheduled to be introduced in early 2009 for the 2010 model year, for a suggested retail price of US$27,270. The new Fusion Hybrid and Fusion Sport officially debuted at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2008. The Fusion Hybrid was made available for press testing in December 2008 and launched to the U.S market in March 2009. During the same month two other new hybrid models also came on sale, the Honda Insight and the Mercury Milan. During the few days that were available to the public, Ford's new Fusion and Milan hybrids sold a combined 451 units, representing 3.0% of all Fusion and Milan models sold in March 2009. The Fusion is the first new hybrid vehicle the Ford brand offered in five years, and is the second hybrid vehicle after the Ford Escape Hybrid. The Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids join the Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrid for Mexican-built hybrid vehicles. The 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, launched in the U.S. market in September 2010, shares the hybrid powertrain from the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids, and delivers an estimated fuel economy of 41 mpg-US (5.7 L/100 km; 49 mpg-imp). The MKZ Hybrid offers several improvements of Ford's Smart Gauge with EcoGuide, first introduced in the 2010 Fusion Hybrid.

The Fusion Hybrid is a "full" hybrid because both propulsion sources, an electric motor powered by a Sanyo supplied[12] 275 V nickel-metal hydride battery, and a 2.5L Atkinson cycle I4 gas engine with late intake valve closing (iVCT), have substantial power ratings and either can be used alone to propel the vehicle. When braking or decelerating, the Fusion's hybrid system uses regenerative braking, where the electric drive motor becomes a generator, converting the vehicle's momentum back to electricity for storage in the batteries. Ford claims that nearly 94 percent energy recovery is achieved by first delivering full regenerative braking followed by friction brakes during city driving. Under ideal conditions, Ford claims the Fusion Hybrid can cruise 2 miles (3.2 km) at up to 47 miles per hour (76 km/h) on battery power alone. The Ford Fusion line-up was included in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 2010 "Top Safety Pick's" rating for the mid-size category. As of June 2010, Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids are the only two mid-size hybrid vehicles in the list. Due to the fact that Ford recently modified and strengthened the roof structure of the Flex, Fusion, and MKT vehicles, these 2010 ratings apply only to Lincoln MKZs, Mercury Milan and Fusions built after April 2010. During 2009 the Fusion Hybrid sold in the U.S. market a total of 15,554 units and the Milan Hybrid 1,486 units, as reported by the manufacturers. Although the Fusion Hybrid helped Ford bypass Honda to become the second biggest seller of hybrids in the US market in the month of December 2009, for the whole year of 2009, Honda sold more hybrid vehicles (35,691 units) than Ford (33,520 units) and the 2010 Honda Insight also outsold the Fusion Hybrid, with 20,572 units. For the year 2010, U.S. sales of Ford Fusion Hybrid reached of 20,816 units, helping the model to become the third best selling hybrid in 2010 after the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight. The Milan Hybrid sold 1,416 units in 2010 and its production was discontinued as part of Ford's decision to phase out the entire Mercury brand. Purchases from the Obama administration accounted for almost a third of the Ford Fusion Hybrids produced between 2009 and late 2010. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rated the fuel economy for the 2010 Fusion Hybrid at 41 miles per US gallon (5.7 L/100 km; 49 mpg-imp) city, 36 miles per US gallon (6.5 L/100 km; 43 mpg-imp) highway. The following table compares fuel economy, carbon footprint, and petroleum consumption between the hybrid version and other drive-trains of the Fusion family as estimated by the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy. The Ford Fusion Hybrid EPA's fuel economy rating is better than the Toyota Camry Hybrid (32 miles per gallon city, 33 highway), the Nissan Altima Hybrid (35 miles per gallon city, 33 highway), and the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid (26 miles per gallon city, 34 highway), considered its main competitors in the mid-size sedan segment.In 2009, Edmunds tested a Fusion Hybrid over two days of mixed city and highway driving against other hybrids or fuel efficient cars like the Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI automatic and the MINI Cooper with manual transmission.

The Fusion Hybrid comes with a SmartGauge with EcoGuide which features two 4.3-inch high-resolution, full-color LCD screens on either side of the vehicle’s analog speedometer. The objective of these panel display is to coach drivers on how to optimize the performance of their hybrid by keeping track of their eco driving improvements. These screens can be configured to show different levels of driver information, including fuel and battery power levels, and average and instant fuel economy. When set in tutorial mode, the instrument panel in the right side “grows” leaves and vines on-screen to reward fuel-efficient driving. The more leaves and vines that appear, the more efficient the driving behavior is and the more fuel is being saved. Long-term fuel efficiency can be also be displayed as a traditional chart. The left side display shows when the car is in pure-electric mode, and shows the state of battery charge. The 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, launched in September 2010, offers an improvement of Ford's SmartGauge with EcoGuide introduced with the 2010 Fusion and Milan hybrids. The Brazilian version of the Fusion Hybrid was unveiled at the 2010 São Paulo International Auto Show. Sales will begin in November 2010 at a price of R$133.900 (~ US$78.500), and Fusion Hybrid will become the first full hybrid car sold in Brazil. Imported from Mexico, the Fusion Hybrid engine performance and fuel system durability has been tested with the Brazilian mandatory E20 to E25 ethanol blends.A complete redesign of the Ford Fusion line-up is schedule for model years 2013. The Fusion Hybrid is expected to use a new compact lithium-ion battery pack and an updated powertrain, shared by the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, that is expected to deliver a higher fuel economy of up to 47 to 48 mpg-US (5.0 to 4.9 L/100 km; 56 to 58 mpg-imp) highway. The next generation Ford Fusion Hybrid is expected to be launched by early 2012, and the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid by mid-2012.