Green Fleet Briefing: IBM’s B2B Marketplace, Ford Fusion Energi, Volt Dropped

IBM has launched B2B Marketplace, a project it hopes will allow energy providers, car manufacturers, and charging point owners to share and integrate services on one common IT platform. This will create a network of EV charging services that are compatible regionally in Europe, the company says. IBM wants electric vehicle drivers to be able to travel without the worry of being too far from an allocated charge post or one supported by their provider, similar to the scenario of territorial roaming and cell phones.

The 2013 Ford Fusion – recently voted Green Car of the Year – has just seen its Energi plug-in hybrid variant EPA-certified at up to 108 MPGe, making it America’s most fuel-efficient sedan, the company says. Fusion Energi is the Ford brand’s fifth electrified vehicle to launch in the past year. The EPA also certified the Fusion Energi to deliver up to 92 MPGe highway and a combined 100 MPGe – figures that could potentially help save customers an estimated $6,850 in fuel costs compared with an average new car over the course of five years, Ford says.

Some automotive dealerships are stopping sales of plug-in hybrid Chevy Volts due to the pricey additional tools and equipment needed to effectively sell and service the vehicles, according to Autoblog.com. Slow sales at these dealerships have failed to offset the extra costs, which run in excess of $5,000.

The Evansville Police Department in Evansvile, Ind., and that city’s Department of Sustainability, Energy and Environmental Quality are to receive a nearly $53,000 state grant to convert nine squad cars to run on compressed natural gas, the Evansville Courier & Press reports. If the cars use CNG 100 percent of the time, the Police Department will save $18,000 a year in fuel costs, the paper reports.

The California Department of General Services has replaced 10 vehicles in its daily rental fleet with 10 Nissan Leaf zero-emission vehicles. DGS has also debuted 24 electric vehicle charging stations now available at five locations in the Sacramento area, with plans to add nine additional stations in DGS State Garages in the near future.