Ford has extended its European plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) trial to Cologne. The study, which is also testing Ford PHEVs on the streets of London and Valencia, Spain, aims to better analyse and show the real-world benefits of such vehicles for the environment and for commercial vehicle owners and operators.

Working with five municipal fleets and the City of Cologne, nine Ford Transit Custom Plug-In Hybrid vans and one Tourneo Custom Plug-In Hybrid people-mover will be put to the test in a variety of real‑world use cases. 

Ford will also investigate how innovative geofencing and blockchain technology could help to accurately track and increase the number of “green miles” driven by vehicles.

Blockchain is a data security technology that underpins some digital technologies.

It creates permanent time-stamped records of data which are saved on multiple computers and which constantly grows as new records or "blocks" are added.

Geofencing is creating a virtual geographic boundary defined by GPS technology.

“Ford is committed to delivering new, more environmentally sustainable vehicles that can help address the mobility challenges our cities face,” said Mark Harvey, director, Commercial Vehicle Mobility, Ford of Europe. “The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle trials with our partners in the City of Cologne build upon our ongoing electrification programmes elsewhere in Europe, and bring us all closer to meeting our combined urban air quality goals.”