Ford and Microsoft team up to drive electric car adoption

A new partnership between Ford and Microsoft is promising to reduce the cost of electric car ownership and make it easier to recharge vehicles.

As part of the tie-up, Ford has become the first carmaker to make use of Hohm, Microsoft's energy management application, and plans to integrate the online smart meter technology with its planned Focus Electric car next year.

Hohm, which was launched last year, is designed to provide households with detailed up-to-date information on their energy use.

However, the online service can also be used to help owners of electric vehicles decide the best time to recharge their battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) by letting them know when demand is lowest and electricity is at its cheapest.

At the same time, the energy management software should help utility companies manage the added demands of electric vehicles on the electrical grid, Microsoft said.

Speaking at the launch of the new partnership, Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Company president and chief executive, said the alliance marked a major step in the company's green car strategy.

"For Ford, this is a needed step in the development of the infrastructure that will make electric vehicles viable," he said.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer argued that integration between smart grid and electric car technologies will be essential to maintain grid resilience, as adoption of zero-emission vehicles accelerates, potentially doubling domestic electricity demand.

"As the market for electric vehicles expands, it will have a significant impact on home energy consumption and demand across the nation's energy grid," he warned, adding that Microsoft's Hohm application would make it easier for car owners to make smart decisions about the most affordable and efficient ways to recharge electric vehicles.

However, the company is likely to face stiff competition as it attempts to break into the burgeoning market for energy metering technology, with rivals such as Google PowerMeter, OpeanPeak and Control4 all offering similar services.

The partnership announcement marks the latest in Ford's global plan to develop electrified vehicles and moves it a step closer to its objective of putting five new electrified vehicles on the road in North America and Europe by 2013.

An Accenture survey published last month found that although interest in electric vehicles is growing, consumers do not see "green" as the only purchasing factor and still tend to favour conventional hybrids.

According to the study, 42 per cent of consumers said they are likely to buy a hybrid or electric auto in the next two years, but of these 80 per cent are more likely to buy hybrids than all-electric vehicles.