This was reported by Derrick Kuzaak, who holds the position of director of global products at the company.
As Kuzaak noted, current cars weigh noticeably more than their predecessors. The main reason is the introduction of modern technologies and safety systems that have been actively installed in cars in recent years.
At the same time, as Kuzaak emphasized, changing the weight of a car by just 100 pounds (45.4 kilograms) in one direction or another significantly affects its fuel economy. Lightening the structure will also make it possible on a number of models to abandon V8 engines in favor of more economical six-cylinder units, and over time, four-cylinder ones. Nevertheless, the main priority for Ford now is reducing the weight of electric vehicles, which, due to batteries, turn out to be significantly heavier than cars with gasoline engines, Kuzaak added.
One of the options for lightening cars is the use of less massive materials, for example, replacing steel with aluminum or carbon. According to Kuzaak, the mass needs to be reduced already at the stage of developing a new platform. Such steps could make cars more expensive, so Ford is now looking for ways to avoid price increases.
Currently, the lightest Ford model on the Ukrainian and American markets is the Fiesta, whose mass is 1041 kilograms.
