'325+k Tesla-3 EV reservations racked up'
% Having one platform do multi-drive-train duty save$ % http://www.slashgear.com/did-ford-block-teslas-model-e-for-its-own-2019-electric-plans-07435328/ Did Ford block Tesla’s Model E for its own 2019 electric plans? Apr 7, 2016 Chris Davies Ford's reluctance to allow Tesla to use the "Model E" name may have been less about heritage and more about launching its own electric car with the badge. The automaker is rumored to be planning to use at least some of the production capacity of its new $1.6bn facility in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, to manufacture an electric vehicle that, in its various configurations, could rival Tesla's new Model 3 [EV], Toyota's Prius [hev], and the Chevrolet Bolt [EV]. Though Ford does have a foot in the EV camp, with ... hybrid versions of the Fusion, C-MAX, and Focus [EV] on North American roads, its generally been less vocal than some rivals about its cars. In the meantime, Chevrolet has been developing the Bolt EV, an all-electric car with roughly 200 miles of range on a charge, and a sticker price of around $30k after subsidies and tax credits. Tesla's Model 3, meanwhile, has already racked up over 325,000 reservations - at $1,000 a pop - the company announced this morning. That's worth around $14bn in future sales, Tesla points out, though only if every single reservation is converted into a full purchase. It's particularly topical, too, since Tesla's original plan had been to call its car the Model E. The company tried to put through a trademark in 2013, and CEO Elon Musk later referred to the Model E himself, but the attempt was blocked by Ford in 2014. Now, the pieces may be coming together for a Ford alternative to the Model 3, research firm AutoForecast Solutions is predicting, Automotive News reports. The Ford Model E would be offered with a trio of drivetrains, the analysts say, including a traditional hybrid system, a plug-in hybrid, and finally as a full-electric vehicle. Such an approach has already been announced by Hyundai, whose Ioniq will get three different engine variants with differing degrees of efficiency. It's not the first time such plans have been rumored, mind. Back in early 2015, Ford denied reports that it was developing a direct rival to the Bolt, and which suggested the car would be on the road by 2017. According to the latest analyst predictions, the new eco-friendly trio are targeting a 2019 launch. Together, they could account for up to 50,000 of the new plant's output, expected to peak at 300-350k cars each year. Ford has been stung before with its attempts to break the electrification segment. The company trumpeted the C-Max Hybrid back in 2012, claiming it to be the fastest-selling hybrid at launch ever, but was then forced to compensate buyers the following year after reports the automaker had over-exaggerated the sort of economy drivers could expect. [© slashgear.com] http://www.autonews.com/article/20160405/OEM01/160409897/ford-to-invest-1-6-billion-in-new-mexico-small-car-plant-create-2800 Ford to invest $1.6 billion in new Mexico small-car plant, create 2,800 jobs April 5, 2016 ... Ford, which first became famous for selling the Model T and Model A, has had a trademark application for the “Model E” name pending with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since December 2013. Documents show it filed a third extension of the application in January 2016. Ford got Tesla Motors to drop an application to use “Model E” in 2014; Tesla last week introduced the vehicle it planned to call the Model E, which will instead be known as the Model 3. The Model E would replace the C-Max, which has struggled to attract buyers since Ford admitted its original fuel-economy ratings were overstated, in Ford’s U.S. lineup. [© Crain Communications] http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103293_2019-ford-model-e-hybrid-electric-car-coming-from-mexico-plant 2019 Ford 'Model E' hybrid, electric car coming from Mexico plant? Apr 7, 2016 John Voelcker [images http://images.hgmsites.net/med/2016-ford-focus_100530025_m.jpg 2016 Ford Focus http://images.hgmsites.net/lrg/2017-ford-focus-electric-from-presentation-on-ford-electrification-plans-dec-2015_100538589_l.jpg 2017 Ford Focus Electric, from presentation on Ford electrification plans, Dec 2015 ] Two years ago, Ford successfully fought efforts by Tesla Motors to register the name "Model E" for what we now know as the Tesla Model 3, unveiled last week to great fanfare. Now it appears that the Detroit automaker may plan to use that name itself on a dedicated vehicle coming in 2019 that will be offered as a hybrid, a battery-electric car, and a plug-in hybrid. If that lineup sounds slightly familiar, it should: it's the same suite of versions that will be offered in the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq. Adding battery-electric versions of dedicated green vehicles seems to be a new trend, in fact. Dedicated electric and plug-in hybrid vehcles will be spun out of the upcoming 2017 Honda Clarity [fcv] sedan, according to reports last year. This week, industry trade journal Automotive News noted that Ford may join the party with a new vehicle to be launched in 2019. It would be built in a brand-new factory in Mexico that will start producing cars in 2018. Ford announced this week that it would invest $1.6 billion in the new plant, its first all-new North American assembly plant in more than 20 years. While the company refused to specify what models would be built there, it is widely assumed that the next-generation Focus compact sedan and hatchback are slated to move to Mexico from their current home in Wayne, Michigan—which will be converted to production of crossover SUVs and trucks. In the article, research firm AutoResearch Solutions suggested that Ford could build a Prius competitor called the "Model E" at the plant starting in 2019. According to Sam Fiorani, the firm's vice president of global forecasting, the Ford Model E would include a conventional hybrid, a battery-electric car, and a plug-in hybrid. Of the new plant's total production volume of 300,000 to 350,000 cars a year, he suggested, the Model E might account for up to 50,000 vehicles. The Ford Model E would be derived from the same compact architecture as the next Focus, but with a new and dedicated body that wouldn't have a gasoline-only version. It would collectively replace the current C-Max Hybrid and C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid, along with the low-volume Focus Electric (which will meanwhile get a range boost to roughly 100 miles for 2017). The C-Max, a tall hatchback introduced for the 2013 model year, was originally EPA-rated at 47 mpg combined, putting it second only to three Toyota Prius models that year. But its rating was cut not once but twice—first to 42 mpg combined in August 2013, then to 40 mpg in June 2014—after widespread owner complaints and an EPA investigation. Its sales have suffered from those reductions and a general market shift toward larger cars and more crossover utility vehicles from smaller cars, sedans, and hatchbacks. C-Max sales since been overtaken by those of the hybrid and Energi versions of the Ford Fusion mid-size sedan, which uses an identical powertrain. 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