As part of a 4.5 billion dollar investment in electrifying their vehicles, Ford is planning to electrify 13 of their vehicles in the next five years, including a Ford Mustang Hybrid and a Ford F-150 Hybrid. This investment will help create 700 U.S. jobs and will include vans, trucks, police cars and taxi cabs. Ford also announced that its global utility lineup will be the company’s first hybrids powered by (turbocharged) EcoBoost engines.
Ford is not new to gas-electric hybrids, plug-in hybrids, or all-electric vehicles. The company already sells the Fusion Hybrid, the Fusion Energi, and the all-electric Ford Focus. Ford is taking to the next level with plans for a hybrid performance car (aka Mustang), hybrid pickup truck (aka F-150), and an all-electric SUV which is capable of around 300 mile of range. Ford did not provide many specifics.
“As more and more consumers around the world become interested in electrified vehicles, Ford is committed to being a leader in providing consumers with a broad range of electrified vehicles, services and solutions that make people’s lives better,” said Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO. “Our investments and expanding lineup reflect our view that global offerings of electrified vehicles will exceed gasoline-powered vehicles within the next 15 years.
- An all-new fully electric small SUV, coming by 2020, engineered to deliver an estimated range of at least 300 miles, to be built at the Flat Rock plant and sold in North America, Europe and Asia
- A high-volume autonomous vehicle designed for commercial ride hailing or ride sharing, starting in North America. The hybrid vehicle will debut in 2021 and will be built at the Flat Rock plant
- A hybrid version of the best-selling F-150 pickup available by 2020 and sold in North America and the Middle East. The F-150 Hybrid, built at Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant, will offer powerful towing and payload capacity and operate as a mobile generator
- A hybrid version of the iconic Mustang that will deliver V8 power and even more low-end torque. The Mustang Hybrid, built at the Flat Rock Plant, debuts in 2020 and will be available in the North America to start
- A Transit Custom plug-in hybrid available in 2019 in Europe engineered to help reduce operating costs in even the most congested streets
- Two new, pursuit-rated hybrid police vehicles. One of the two new hybrid police vehicles will be built in Chicago, and both will be upfitted with their police gear at Ford’s dedicated police vehicle modification center in Chicago” – – Ford Motor Company
The jobs added for workers in the United States is not lost on the UAW. “I am thrilled that we have been able to secure additional UAW-Ford jobs for American workers,” said Jimmy Settles, UAW vice president, National Ford Department. “The men and women of Flat Rock Assembly have shown a great commitment to manufacturing quality products, and we look forward to their continued success with a new generation of high-tech vehicles.”
Ford is looking at providing more than improved efficiency, they are looking at gains in overall performance too. “Ford’s global EV strategy is to build on our strengths,” said Raj Nair, executive vice president, Product Development, and chief technical officer. “While some others seem to be focused on marketing claims and numbers, we’re focused on providing customers even more of what they love about their Ford vehicles. This means more capability for trucks, more productivity for commercial vehicles and more performance for sports cars – plus improved fuel economy.”
