Ford Ecostar Electric Van

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The Ford Ecostar was an experimental electric car in the form of a small delivery van, based on the Escort Van, produced by the company’s Halewood Body & Assembly factory outside Liverpool.

The Ecostar was built to help develop a variety of different aspects of electric vehicle operation from initial design, to product support and market development. The first vehicle was completed in 1992, powered by relatively conventional lead-acid batteries and further prototypes followed which proved reasonably successful. For the Eco Star to make a real technological breakthrough however, a radically different arrangement was needed.

Ford had developed the sodium-sulphur battery technology in 1965, but had not developed it commercially. In the early 1990s, further work was carried out on this system and a sodium-sulphur battery was fitted in the floor of the Ecostar’s cargo area which stored power for a rather modest 75bhp electric motor under the bonnet. Drivers described it as "sedate", while Ford estimated its 0-60mph acceleration at about 16.5 seconds. While slow by car standards, this is similar to other small European delivery vans of the era,

Only 105 Ecostars were made, all hand-built between 1993 and used in fleet tests between 1992 and 1996 with over one million miles driven. The Ecostar averaged 94 miles on a full charge and demonstrated 155 miles miles range in one test. However, on several occasions the battery burst into flame during recharging. In order for the battery to work, it had to be maintained at a temperature of 316 deg C, which keeps the sulphur molten, however the sulphur in the battery was flammable, a serious safety risk.

The batteries were also heavy (354 kg) and expensive making production vehicles unviable. For this, and several other reasons, Ford lost interest in the sodium-sulphur battery and in partnership with Daimler-Benz and Ballard Power Systems, turned to fuel cell concepts instead. The development of the Eco Star led to other companies experimenting with similar vehicles, including Citroën with its Berlingo électrique, which was almost identical in looks, performance and range.

This particular Ecostar was first registered to the Ford Motor Company in February 1995 and was then loaned to Hertfordshire County Council as a test and promotional vehicle. In 1998 Hertfordshire County Council donated the vehicle to the Stondon Museum on condition that it be kept in good order, insured for £25,000 and be available to HCC up to four times per year for their own publicity purposes. It was recorded as being Vehicle 069 out of 105 produced. The batteries were removed from the vehicle for safety reasons.

It comes with a V5C which confirms it was registered to the Stondon Museum (only its second keeper) in June 1999, much technical literature relating to the model, various Ford publicity photographs and press releases, and the aforementioned correspondence between Stondon and Hertfordshire County Council.