Ford develops folding electric bike with a white van attachment

Published by Lyn on 5 March 2015

You know bikes are becoming big business when car manufacturers start getting in on the act.

In France, the Peugeot car company was born from a family business that originally made bicycles (and water mills). It seems the car business had turned a full circle, with more motor companies now looking to the bike to grow (and sustain) their businesses 21st century.

At this week's Barcelona Mobile World Congress, technology and innovation exhibition, Ford is exhibiting a prototype for a folding electric bike that attaches to a white van. Here's a BBC video explaining what they're up to.

As Ford's chief design engineer Tom Thompson tells the BBC in the video, the MoDe Pro bike is intended for use by couriers (who Mr Thompson, for some inexplicable reason, seems to assume are all men). The idea is that an electric bike is attached to the back of a white van and deployed when needed to negotiate congested city traffic.

The bike has a 200-watt motor with a 9-amp battery that can reach speeds of up to 25km/h. For is developing a sister model for commuters.

The Ford bike at the moment is just a prototype but the company says it's going to continue testing it with the ultimate aim of releasing it to market.

The development of bikes by car manufacturers – particularly ones that are designed for use by people who would otherwise only be drivers – could help convert more motorists into cyclists, not only easing congestion in cities but also providing more drivers with a vision of roads from a cyclists' persective and improving safety for us all.

We're big fans of electric bikes here at Freewheeling France, with electrics being increasingly used to make cycle commuting, touring, and sightseeing easier for people who perhaps otherwise would not bike (or who just need a little boost).

Provence, Burgundy and Alsace are just three regions to have electric bike hire available for visitors, while companies such as Nano are pushing forward with making it possible to turn ordinary Brompton folders into electrics. See here for our general advice on electric bikes and cycling in France.

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