DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 21 - The Ford Motor Company plans to increase production of hybrid electric vehicles tenfold, to 250,000 vehicles annually, by the end of the decade, executives said Wednesday. þþBy 2010, the company said that more than half of its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models would offer the technology as an option, accounting for roughly 8 percent of the three brands' current sales. þþFord said that it would also increase the number of models that can run on ethanol, a corn-based fuel, and also took a small but unusual step, for an automaker, to counteract global warming. þþFord and other automakers are challenging in court a much more ambitious effort in California to cut car and truck emissions of gases linked to global warming. William Clay Ford Jr., Ford's chairman and chief executive, has long been outspoken on environmental issues but has also been constrained by his company's financial distress. At a news conference Wednesday, he said an environmental strategy would be part of a two-pronged approach to restoring Ford's North American profitability. þþBoth Ford and General Motors are losing billions of dollars at home, though Ford remains profitable globally. While Mr. Ford is developing a traditional turnaround strategy that will include job and cost cuts, he said his company had to be known for more than that. þþÿOur road to recovery will really be built on two things,ÿ Mr. Ford said. ÿOne will be a cost-cutting, capacity action, which you would consider hard-nosed business decisions. But that also is not enough. Today was about what's going to take us in the future, what's going to differentiate us from other companies and what are we going to be known for.ÿþþÿYou have to stand for something and be a leader in something,ÿ he added. þþMr. Ford has established his company as the first automaker to offer a hybrid lineup that is comparable to those offered by Toyota and Honda - Toyota has said that it plans to expand sales of hybrids to a quarter of the vehicles it sells in America by 2010. At the same time, though, Mr. Ford is embarking on his second turnaround plan in four years as chief executive of the company founded by his great-grandfather. þþThe pressure on the Detroit automakers was felt in a different way on Wednesday by Ford's crosstown rival, G.M. Kirk Kerkorian, the billionaire financier and corporate raider, said in a securities filing that he might seek representation on G.M.'s board and would increase his stake in the company to 9.9 percent, from 9.5 percent. Previously, aides to Mr. Kerkorian, who was once Chrysler's largest shareholder and tried to take over the company, have said he was not interested in taking an active role at G.M. þþÿWe were advised that Tracinda would be making this filing,ÿ said Toni Simonetti, a spokeswoman for G.M., referring to Mr. Kerkorian's private investment company. ÿWe really do not have any comment on it.ÿþþA spokeswoman for Tracinda had no comment. þþFord, G.M. and other automakers are scrambling to establish their environmental credentials as volatile gas prices have unnerved American consumers. Mitsubishi, the struggling Japanese automaker, said Wednesday that it would offer free gas for a year to customers who bought its remaining 2005 models.þþOn Tuesday, G.M. said it would emphasize a range of fuel economy initiatives as it markets its new generation of large sport utility vehicles, a segment that has borne the brunt of consumer discontent. G.M. also said it would begin to highlight the fact that many of its vehicles can run on an ethanol blend, a capability that environmentalists have seen more as taking advantage of a regulatory loophole than a benefit. Building vehicles that can run on ethanol as well as gasoline wins automakers credits that can allow them to build more vehicles with poor fuel economy. There are also fewer than 500 gas stations nationwide that offer E85, the ethanol blend the vehicles can use. þþÿIt's just one in a basket of responses that we're pushing to try and help solve some of these big issues that are out there,ÿ Mr. Ford said Wednesday. ÿWe're certainly not putting all our chips on ethanol, but there is a big provision for it in the energy bill and there is a commitment in this country to ethanol and we'd be irresponsible if we didn't respond to it.ÿþþThe company said it would offer 280,000 flex-fuel vehicles that run on gas or ethanol next year, including, for the first time, a version of its Ford F-150 pickup truck. ÿWith fewer than 400 ethanol stations in the entire country, it will be important for them to follow through on plans to promote ethanol sales,ÿ said Jason Mark, a spokesman for the Union of Concerned Scientists, an environmental group. ÿOtherwise, their increased flexible-fuel vehicle sales will actually exacerbate our oil dependence.ÿþþStill, he said that the hybrid announcement was welcome.þþÿThe days of cheap gas are likely behind us, so the company's investments in fuel-sipping technologies is wise planning,ÿ he said. þþAs part of Ford's new environmental strategy, the company said it would buy credits on an exchange to offset greenhouse gases emitted during the manufacture of its new hybrids. While the emissions from manufacturing are considerably less than those the vehicles emit on the road, it is an unusual program for an automaker. One Ford executive said Wednesday that the program could cost about $10 to $20 per vehicle. þþ
Source: NY Times
