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Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Ford Ford Transit Connect BEV - click above for high-res image gallery Ford announced a change in direction today for its Transit Connect BEV program. Azure Dynamics will be partnering with Ford on bringing its first new electric vehicle to market. Last February however, the automaker announced that it would be working with Smith Electric Vehicles to produce the plug-in cargo van starting in 2010. We checked with Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Moore who told us that Ford and Smith had mutually decided they had different goals and would go their separate ways. Azure will take the lead on finishing the electric TC including integrating its "Force Drive" powertrain. The TC will be using lithium ion batteries supplied by Johnson Controls-Saft who will also be supplying the electric Focus in 2011 and the new plug-in hybrid coming in 2012. Ford and Azure already have a relationship thanks to the E450 chassis that Azure uses... details >>>

Filed under: Hybrid For several years, Azure Dynamics has been selling a variety of delivery vans and shuttle buses equipped with its parallel hybrid system. It recently sold its first Type A school bus so equipped to the Napa Unified School district in California. The short bus is based on the NEXBUS body built by Collins Bus Corp on a Ford E-450 chassis. The Napa district has already been operating larger hybrid school buses for some time. This isn't Napa's first experience with Azure. When the company was still known as Solectria, it supplied a full electric bus which ran for three and a half years. More: Azure Dynamics sells first hybrid Type A school bus ... details >>>