Ford Motor Company submitted a comprehensive business plan to Congress, outlining a request for a stop-gap bridge loan in the event of a downturn in the current economic crisis.

Elaborating on the company’s plans to return to profitability, Ford provided information about a full battery electric vehicle (BEV) in a van-type vehicle for commercial fleet use in 2010 and a BEV sedan in 2011, as part of its strategy to electrify a family of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles.

Ford will unveil its accelerated vehicle electrification plan at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The company has plans to reduce costs of electric drive systems and batteries, to provide retail availability of these vehicles. While Ford has not committed on figures at this point, it is assumed that production will be in hundreds rather than thousands.

Ford is geared up to improve fuel economy across its fleet, by an average of 14 percent for 2009 models. The auto major, calls for an investment of $14 billion on advanced technologies to improve fuel efficiency during the next seven years.