Ford plans 13 new electrified vehicles by 2020

The company said it will add13 new electrified vehicles to its product portfolio by 2020, rising more than 40 percent of Ford’s nameplates globally by the decade’s end, up from 13% now. It will have a fast-charge function that will deliver an 80 per cent charge in 30 minutes, answering one of the limitations of electric cars, which is the long time needed to recharge them.

While electric vehicles haven’t made much of an impact on sales of petrol and diesel vehicles, Ford is hoping to change that by adding 13 new electrified vehicles to its lineup by 2020.

“When you look at these investments, we know for sure hybridization is going to be a bigger proportion of our vehicles”, said Matt Stover, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group.

The planned outlays for electrified vehicles will be its largest ever in a five-year period, Ford said in a statement.

“Batteries are the life force of any EV, and we have been committed to growing our leadership in battery research and development for more than 15 years”, said Kevin Layden, director, Ford Electrification Programs. The carmaker expects to get the same return on its investment in those models as it would from gasoline-powered vehicles, he said.

“That’s our intention”, he said. “A lot will depend on both the regulatory as well as the fuel environment”.

Ford is also expected to show the next-generation Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid next month at the 2016 North American International Auto Show.

Since the first Escape hybrid was put into production for the 2004 model year, improved battery technology has been applied to vehicle updates every two to three years with higher power density, better range and lower cost to build.

“We still see feedback that people are concerned about the range of a plug-in hybrid, which really, to be honest, doesn’t make sense”, Nair said.

At the same time, Ford is expanding its electrified vehicle research and development programme in Europe and Asia this year, creating a “hub and spoke” system that allows the global team to further accelerate battery technology and take advantage of market specific opportunities.

In October, Ford, the University of Michigan and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced a new $9 million battery lab at the University of Michigan that is helping the company develop batteries that are smaller, lighter and less expensive to produce.