Tanfield to collaborate with Ford

By David Blackwell
Published: February 9 2009 15:56

Tanfield, which last week announced a joint venture in order to take its electric vehicles into the US market, is to collaborate with Ford to make a Transit-based battery-powered van.
The shares, which rose 16 per cent on news of the joint venture, increased by another 42 per cent to 11p following the Ford announcement.

The company said it would make a limited number of electric Ford Transit Connect vans in North America next year, “with future production to ramp up in line with customer demand.” The vans would be branded as Fords, and sold through Ford dealers. They are expected to run for up to 100 miles before recharging.
“We are proud to be delivering the first vehicle in Ford’s new electrification strategy,” siad Darren Kell, Tanfield chief executive. The van offered fleet owners the chance to reduce their carbon footprint and improve city air quality.
Tanfield will supply and integrate the power train, battery pack and control systems into the existing Transit chassis, with engineering support from Ford.
Ford said the collaboration would put at at the “vanguard of the commercial electric vehicle industry”.
Last week Tanfield said its joint venture would be making electric trucks in the US by the end of this year. It would qualify for Federal and regional funding available for electric vehicle production.
Shares in Tanfield fell from more than 200p last summer after it warned of production problems for its electric vehicles and a sharp drop in global demand for the industrial “cherry pickers” - or aerial platforms - that comprise most of its sales.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009