Pretty soon, it’ll be raining Ford hybrids. Grab your HOV lane passes while you still can.
At the beginning of this year, Ford announced a huge push to apply all-electric or electrically assisted powertrains to most of its models. In total, 13 new electrified vehicles will be on sale by 2020 as part of a $4.5 billion investment. Among the charged up roster, notable models include the F-150 pickup and Mustang.
While we’re still wrapping our heads around a hybrid pony car, Automotive News has learned of the automaker’s first few efficiency plans. Plug-in hybrid versions of the Ford Escape and Lincoln MKC will accompany hybrid versions of the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator as 2019 model year vehicles.
As some of the blue oval’s least fuel-efficient offerings (we’re looking at you, Expedition and Navigator), these hybridized versions stand to bump Ford’s fuel economy average up quite a bit.
At one time, Ford sold a hybrid version of the Escape, but it was axed in 2012. Now that both the Ford C-Max and C-Max Energi are due for discontinuation, Ford is eager to fill its portfolio with alternative energy options.
For a bigger piece of the electric pie, Ford plans to reveal a pure electric vehicle (tentatively dubbed the “Model E”) before 2020. The Tesla-style nomenclature will represent an affordable crossover to rival upcoming offerings from Volvo, Tesla, and other manufacturers. Soon after the Model E breaks cover, Ford will unveil its Mustang and F-150 hybrids.
Right now, the tally of upcoming electrified products is seven of 13, leaving six models to be disclosed. With an all-electric Focus, plug-in hybrid Fusion, and conventional hybrid Fusion already on sale, there’s a good chance Ford hybrid power is coming to the Fiesta, Edge, Taurus, and Explorer.
Car and Driver is also pointing to Ford’s new venture with Anhui Zoyte Automobile, a Chinese EV maker, as a potential collaborator on an all-electric brand of vehicles. There may be even more than the 13 planned hybrid/electric models in the works, and it appears that Ford is banking on the increase in consumer appetites for alternative energy models. We’ll soon see if the American automaker’s wager pays off.
