Ford Working On Long-Range, Tesla-Fighting EV

Mark Fields, CEO of Ford Motor Company, said his company plans to take "a leadership position" when it comes to electric vehicles (EVs) and develop a long-range model that can get around 200 miles per charge. The 2017 Focus Electric is projected to go around 100 miles on a charge, but a growing list of manufacturers are already passing that mark, including General Motors, Volkswagen, Nissan, and, of course, Tesla.  

Cheap gas has helped boost sales of Ford's SUVs and their ever-popular F-Series pickups sixteen percent, according to Bloomberg, but they have been aggressive when it comes to their EV and hybrid technology. They are offering the Focus Electric as a shorter range electric vehicle, as well as the C-Max Hybrid, C-Max Energi, and hybrid versions of their popular Fusion and Lincoln MKZ sedans.

But Fields announced last December that Ford plans to invest $4.5 million and add another thirteen electrified models to their lineup by 2020. These proposed new EVs, which will make up about 40 percent of Fords lineup, will also enable the manufacturer to get closer to meeting U.S. government regulations. The feds have already mandated that cars must get 54.5 mpg by 2025.

But a bigger reason for developing such a car is to simply keep up with the competition. Both the 2017 Chevy Bolt EV and Nissan's next-generation Leaf are projected to get 200 miles per charge, while the lauded Tesla Model 3 is expected to go around 215 miles. Tesla has already received hundreds of thousands of pre-orders for the Model 3.

Fields didn't give any details about his company's new EV, other than that it would get at least 200 miles on a charge. He also didn't say when production was set to begin.