Ford Gains Nearly 500 Patents for Fuel-Efficient Hybrid Technology

California – Ford Motor Company’s innovations in fuel-efficient hybrid technology have led to a fifty-fold increase in hybrid patents for the automobile manufacturer, which takes it close to holding five hundred patents for the technology. Ford’s new patented technologies are expected to help the new Fusion Hybrid achieve an impressive forty-seven miles per gallon, making it America’s most fuel-efficient non-rechargeable sedan.

In the past few years, the Dearborn Michigan motor company has beefed up its efforts at growing its intellectual property portfolio with major investments during the country’s economic slump.

A patent attorney working for Ford commented that the company doesn’t engage in the practice of collecting patents simply for the mere sake of having a large portfolio. “We get the high-quality patents that Ford really needs. With the high level of innovation from our people, it makes sense that we should see our hybrid patent levels increase the way they have,” stated the attorney.

The new Ford Fusion Hybrid is the first sedan to use gasoline, hybrid, and plug-in power trains, all three expected to have top fuel economy.

“Ford continued to invest to develop new products like our new Fusion hybrids during the depths of our economic downturn,” stated Chuck Gray, Ford chief engineer of Global Core Engineering Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. “We succeeded in transforming our lineup with leading fuel efficiency, thanks in part to the many Ford inventors who are helping make our Fusion Hybrid America’s most fuel-efficient sedan.”

Ford’s promising future in hybrid technology can be attributed to its electrified vehicle team, including inventor Ming Kuang, who has helped grow Ford’s hybrid patent portfolio from a mere ten in 2000, to the nearly five hundred today. Kuang is a technical leader in vehicle controls at Ford Electrification Research and Advanced Engineering in Dearborn.

The innovative technology developed by Kuang and his counterparts can be found throughout Ford’s recently transformed lineup of vehicles. One third of these vehicles will reportedly feature a model that gets 40 miles per gallon or more in 2012 and help build the company’s commitment to future hybrid innovation by offering fuel-efficiency-minded buyers the power of choice.

In addition to the Fusion Hybrid’s unprecedented 47 mpg city and 44 mpg highway, Ford is also introducing its new Fusion Energi this fall. The Energi is anticipated to deliver more than 100 MPGe, which is more than the projected fuel efficiency of the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid.