From Marketing Week

Ford Motor Company is setting up a center to spearhead the development of hybrid vehicles.

The center, which will be in Gothenburg in Sweden, will develop hybrid concepts for both Ford of Europe and its Premier Automotive Group, which comprises Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin and Volvo. It will be staffed by a mix of 20 leading engineers from Volvo and other Ford-owned brands.

The center is part of a global initiative by Ford to speed up the introduction of fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles. The market is dominated by Toyota with its Prius model. Although the center will be located in Gothenburg, each brand within Ford's European operations will be responsible for applying new technologies to their own product portfolios. The team at the new hybrid centre will also work closely with Ford's hybrid development centre in Detroit in the U.S.

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