Ford teaming up with Microsoft to improve electric car’s prospects

Ford Motor Co. and Microsoft Corp. announced Wednesday that they were teaming up in an effort to make widespread adoption of the electric car a reality.

Ford said it planned to use Microsoft’s Hohm charging optimization service to help drivers determine when to charge their vehicles and how to minimize the effect on the grid.

Ford said powering up electric vehicles could effectively double home energy consumption and that managing the expected surge in demand was crucial.

“For Ford, this is a needed step in the development of the infrastructure that will make electric vehicles viable,” Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally said.

The Internet-based service will be used for the Focus Electric plug-in hybrid in 2011 and in two next-generation hybrids in 2012.

Langlois writes for MarketWatch.com / McClatchy.