Better 20 years late than never ever: According to Reuters, Ford is organizing its initial devoted gas-electric hybrid model for the 2019 model year, to compete directly against the Toyota Prius. (The C-Max doesn’t count, considering that it was initially sold in Europe as a typical MPV.)
Given that Toyota’s reigning hybrid champ hit Japan in 1997 and made a beachhead on our shores for 2001, a lot more than 3 million copies have been sold, like much more than 800,000 from all 4 model variants final year. The unnamed sources say that Ford plans to make about 120,000 of its hybrid every year. Those exact same sources say the hybrid will be based on a new “C2 international compact architecture” that Ford will also use for the subsequent Concentrate and Escape. Reuters was less particular on powertrains, only to say they’ll be “adapted from Ford’s present hybrid models.”
If this all shapes up as reported, it will mark a main departure from the normal Ford practice of modifying gasoline-powered vehicles to accommodate hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or full-electric powertrains on the same assembly line. It would also mark a shift from the philosophy of offering green-leaning vehicles that don’t make its drivers appear like revolutionaries aside from battery packs intruding into cargo space, Ford’s hybrids and electrics are typically demure. Of course, the Prius’s egg-shaped aesthetic—not to mention 2 decades’ worth of confirmed efficiency—have created it the go-to hybrid for most shoppers, and Ford desires to get itself a piece of that.
The Blue Oval, however, will have to be careful that it does not adhere to the path of Honda and its Insight the Insight featured a dedicated, semifuturistic physique and was the 1st mainstream hybrid on the American market, but the nameplate was steamrolled—twice—by the Prius juggernaut. And now that even nonhybrid mid-size sedans are achieving 40 mpg, Ford marketers have really the challenge. Whatever takes place, it’s about to get actual again in the Whole Foods parking lot.
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