Ford is following where customer demand is and is pivoting away from launching too many battery electric vehicles. Following the Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning, Ford will now launch a barrage of hybrids and extended range EVs by 2030.
Center to Ford’s plan is the F-150 Lightning which will be discontinued in its current form and will be brought back as an extended range electric vehicle.
The new F-150 Lightning Extended Range Electric Vehicle or EREV will be propelled 100 percent by electric motors, but will have a small gas engine that acts as a generator to feed power back into the batteries. Ford is targeting a 700-mile (1,126 kilometers) range along with “seamless, instant power.”
On top of this, Ford says it will launch five “new affordable vehicles” by the end of the decade including a new gas/hybrid commercial van.
The company also plans to expand gas, hybrid, and extended-range electric options across its portfolio with nearly every vehicle featuring a hybrid or “multi-energy powertrain” choice by the end of the decade. This includes its larger trucks and SUVs which are “better aligned with customer demands for capability, towing, and range.”
Of course, Ford isn’t completely turning away from battery electric vehicles. On the contrary, work continues with its upcoming Universal EV Platform. It will underpin a family of small, highly efficient, and affordable EVs designed to be accessible. The first will be a midsize pickup truck.
The company will also use a new strategic partnership with Renault to develop electric vehicles. These Ford-branded vehicles will ride on the Renault Ampere platform, but will have design and driving dynamics unique to Ford.
