'Laggard' Ford announces line of fully-electric vehicles for Chinese market

Ford has announced plans to bring a new line of electric vehicles to the world’s biggest car market.

The American company and electric vehicle specialists Zotye Automobile will build and sell the fully-electric vehicles in China, the fastest-growing market in the world for electric, hybrid and alternatively-fuelled vehicles.

“Electric vehicles will be a big part of the future in China, and Ford wants to lead in delivering great solutions to customers,” said Peter Fleet, Ford group vice president and president of Ford Asia Pacific.

The trans-Pacific partnership has not yet announced details of the vehicles or how many will be produced, but said information will be released after a “final definitive agreement” and regulatory approval. 

However, industry expert Chris Goodall from Carbon Commentary said the vehicles will not be the same as Western models. “It’s a very different sort of car to the sort of car which would sell in the United States, but nevertheless it proves for Ford – which has been a laggard – 100% electric, non-hybrid cars are coming fast,” he said to Professional Engineering.

The announcement came after reports that Ford will go “all in” on fully-electric cars after the departure of CEO Mark Fields and appointment of Jim Hackett. A note from Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas reportedly suggested the company will shift its electrification focus away from hybrid models.

The shift was driven by the demand for fully-electric models in China, said Goodall, as well as changing consumer attitudes as the technology develops. “I think that the extra cost imposed by having a full hybrid system means that there is no logic for consumers to buy hybrid cars once the roughly 200 mile charging range figure has been reached,” he said. “We are getting close to that for mass-market cars, as the Tesla 3 shows.”