Electric vehicles will account for a “major portion” of Ford’s US model line, chief executive Alan Mulally has said.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Pickup trucks and SUVs currently account for about 60% of sales but the company has been offering hybrids in the US since 2004 and recently said its new small European van, the Turkish-built Transit Connect, would have an electric option from 2010 with an electric car and a ‘range extender’ competitor for GM’s Chevrolet Volt to follow in the next couple of years.
“In 10 years, 12 years, you are going to see a major portion of our portfolio move to electric vehicles,” Mulally said at a Wall Street Journal economics conference in Santa Barbara, California, according to Reuters.
“Ten years is going to come very quickly and I think we’ll have a significant improvement in the fuel efficiency in the internal combustion engine,” Mulally said in response to a question about what Ford expected a decade from now.
“You’ll see more hybrids, but you will really see a lot more electric vehicles,” he said.
The company is also introducing more fuel-efficient petrol models in the US. A special batch of 100 Fiestas was recently built in Germany and shipped over for use in a promotional programme ahead of the 2010 launch.
Mulally said Ford was committed to shifting away from its recent reliance on light trucks for 60% or more of its sales so that more fuel-efficient passenger cars dominate, Reuters added.
“We can now make cars in the United States and we can do it profitably,” he said.
Though fuel prices have dropped from a peak last summer, Mulally said Ford was building a strategy around longer-term energy scarcity.
“Over time, we are going to see ever-increasing prices for energy,” he said.
