4
• Ford and Mercury are among top four non-luxury brands with Toyota and Honda at 3
Years in Service in the 2008 RDA Global Quality Research Survey (GQRS), a respected
third party assessment of industry quality.
• Ford, Lincoln and Mercury tied the best Japanese brands in the 2008 RDA
GQRS survey at 3 months in service.
• Ford and Mercury are among the top four non-luxury brands with Toyota and Honda in
JD Power & Associates Initial Quality Study (IQS).
• We have increased
Consumer Reports
“Recommended Buys” from 11 in 2005 to
16 in 2008, and we have plans in place for all Ford vehicles to achieve Recommended
Buys by 2011.
Ford continues as a leader in safety performance. We recently achieved the highest
number of “Top Safety Picks” from the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
(IIHS), we were awarded the most U.S. government 5-star safety ratings in the
automotive industry, and we have introduced product innovations that improve safety
including: (i) Forward Collision Warning with Brake Support; (ii) Blind Spot Information
System with Cross Traffic Alert; (iii) Roll Stability Control; (iv)
MyKey
© configurable
driving mode to encourage safer driving behaviors; and (v) Integrated Spotter Mirror.
We also continue to lead on technologies that enhance comfort and convenience,
including SYNC for hands-free media and phone, Easy Fuel capless fuel filler and our
coming innovation in next generation display and information systems.
Sustainability and Electrification Strategy
. Fordʼs sustainability plan will achieve
continuous and substantial improvement in fuel economy and a corresponding reduction
in CO2 through affordable technology in high volume. Fordʼs plan is to make affordable
fuel efficiency available to millions of consumers.
Our three-phased approach – with near-term, medium-term and long-term advanced
technologies and products – begins now with advanced internal combustion engine and
transmission technologies, such as our EcoBoost engines going into production on
several vehicles in 2009. The next major step in Fordʼs plan is to increase over time the
volume of electrified vehicles, as battery costs improve and as the transition from
Hybrids to Plug-inHybrids to Battery Electric Vehicles occurs. (See Appendix, Slide 4.)
Next month at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, we will discuss in
detail Fordʼs accelerated vehicle electrification plan, which includes bringing to market
by 2012 a family of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles. Our work will
include partnering with battery and powertrain systems suppliers to deliver a full battery
electric vehicle (BEV) in a van-type vehicle for commercial fleet use in 2010 and a BEV
sedan in 2011. We will develop these vehicles in a manner that enables us to reduce
costs and ultimately makes battery electric powered vehicles more affordable for
consumers.
Our plan also includes building on our competence in hybrid vehicles, as demonstrated
by the industry-leading fuel economy of the Ford Escape and Ford Fusion hybrids. We
are now developing our next generation full hybrid technology, which includes plug-in
capability, for vehicles in 2012 and beyond. We are targeting a substantial increase in
hybrid volume through a greater than 30% reduction in cost, installation of hybrid
capability in global platforms and hybrid vehicles that are uniquely styled.
We cannot, however, accomplish significant electrification by ourselves. The 2007
Energy Independence and Security Act requires
American-developed
breakthroughs in
high-power energy batteries (e.g. lithium ion). In order to make significant progress in
electrification, Ford supports establishing a U.S. public/private partnership to accelerate