Ford Exec Admits Hybrid Battery Shortage?

 

ford-mark-fields

ford-mark-fields

Enlarge Photo


The blogosphere quaked yesterday with the news of a possible battery supply shortage for next year's line of hybrids at Ford.  Both hybridcars.com and autobloggreen.com reported that in an online chat with employees, Ford Americas President Mark Fields had said that "We are constrained by the amount of components, including batteries, that the supply base can provide us."

Does this signal a supply-chain issue for hybrids next year? Not so, says Ford's Alan Hall. "We have planned to double our volume with the addition of our new hybrids, the Fusion and Milan, joining the Escape and Mariner. If customer demand requires more, we will work with our supplier partners to meet the demand."

The concern arises from the time during peak oil prices last summer that demand for the Escape and Mariner hybrids outpaced supply. In preparation for a repeated spike in demand, Ford appears to have the capacity to double hybrid volume in 2009 before supply becomes an issue.





Posted in:
 
Follow Us

 

Have an opinion?Join the conversation!

  • Posting indicates you have read this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • Notify me when there are more comments
Comments (2)
  1. Just wanted to echo Alan's comments from Ford. We do have batteries we need to meet our production goals for the new Fusion and Milan hybrids. If demand takes off - we will work with our suppliers to address that demand. So talk about battery shortage not accurate at this point.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  2. Jennifer - thanks for reading, and for keeping the communication lines open.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

 

Have an opinion?Join the conversation!

Find Green Cars

Go!


 
© 2011 Green Car Reports. All Rights Reserved. Green Car Reports is published by High Gear Media. Send us feedback. Stock photography by Homestar, LLC.