Turkish firm allies with Ford to develop hybrid car batteries

Turkish automobile and industrial battery manufacturer, Inci Aku San Ve Tic AS, part of Inci Holding, has tied up with Ford to develop and manufacture hybrid car batteries that will power the next generation of hybrid cars being developed by the American company.

Sardar Koran, Area Manager (Middle East) of the Turkish company, told Emirates Business that Inci Aku is setting up a new hybrid battery plant for Ford hybrid cars. All over the world, fuel-efficient hybrid cars are being planned to reduce dependence on petroleum as the main source of fuel and reduces fuel bills for motorists. The new project will mass-produce hybrid batteries for the global market.

US President Barack Obama has announced an ambitious plan to put one million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015 and promised to invest $2.4 billion (Dh8.8bn) to develop advanced batteries and electric cars. A rechargable battery is the most crucial and expensive component in a hybrid car and many companies are working on next generation lithium ion batteries that have high energy densities.

Sardar said: "We have tied up with Ford Motors for a common project to mass-produce hybrid batteries for the next generation cars. We currently have two major factories in Manisa, Turkey, which produces four million batteries per year, and Keiv in Ukraine which produces 300,000 per year. We are adding a new plant to produce rechargeable electric batteries for Ford."

The hybrid battery plant may be located in an East European country, the official hinted without revealing details. The firm is an equipment manufacturer for companies such as Ford, Mercedes Benz, Isuzu, Fiat and Hyundai in Turkey, and Iran Saipa, a Saipa Group joint venture with Kia, Iran Khodro, a Peugot project, and Iran Sapco in Iran.

It is also a major supplier of vehicle batteries in the UAE and Gulf countries, and was present in Automechanika Middle East 2009 in Dubai.

Major automobile battery makers such as Johnson Controls are working on next-generation hybrid batteries that will be crucial for the automobile industry. Ford has an pact with Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions, a joint venture of Ford with the French firm.

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