Sweden: Ford and BRC Sweden begin major investment into biomethane powered gas
Several new models are scheduled for launch onto the Swedish market during 2017. First up is the Ford Mondeo with Malmö Taxi taking delivery 39 cars will roll for Malmö Taxi.
Ford Motor Company AB, the Swedish subsidiary of global automaker Ford has announced that it has together with BRC Sweden, one of Sweden’s leading companies in development of gas-powered vehicles and gas stations, launched a major investment into expanding the range of gas-fuelled models for the Swedish market.
Currently two models, the Ford Focus and Ford C-MAX, are available as gas-fuelled options in Sweden. According to Ford, it is its award-winning EcoBoost engine that lies behind the cooperation with BRC, an engine that performs very well on biomethane.
“We are very proud to have developed the new Ford EcoBoost engines that run on biomethane. It shows that the cooperation we have had for several years is working well and that both BRC and Ford see great potential for this product”, said Dennis Staaf, Managing Director for BRC Sweden in a statement.
The first car model to have BRC’s gas system mounted is a Ford Mondeo 1.5 160 hp (manual and automatic), of which 39 vehicles have already been sold to Malmo Taxi via Hedberg Car in Malmö. The cars are being fitted with 13 kg gas tanks, sufficient for a 300 km range and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as low as 38 gr/km.
Ford and BRC are to launch additional new models for gas operation with Ford’s EcoBoost Engine: 1.0 Ecoboost Focus, C-MAX 1.0 Ecoboost and Transit Connect 1.0 Ecoboost. The latter will be showcased during the “Cars that Work” show at the Stockholm International Fairs.
There are several fiscal advantages of a car powered by biomethane in Sweden. As CO2 emissions are 72% lower compared to petrol, the vehicle qualifies as a “green” class vehicle. This makes it exempt from the annual vehicle tax and, in the case of a company car the income tax benefit value is reduced by 40%.
With an ambition to sell 400 – 500 vehicles per annum, Ford is initially targeting fleet operators such as municipalities and delivery companies as well as other organisations that have stated high environmental targets. As vehicle-grade biogas is a renewable energy source, a gas-fuelled vehicle can play a significant part for those organisations such as Malmö Taxi wanting to reduce their environmental impact further. Malmö Taxi’s gas-powered Mondeo’s will be out during January.
Source: Bioenergy International
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