Photo: Ford
The future may not be fully electric for everybody anytime soon, but it will sure include some sort of electrification - whether we're talking mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid or just a simple electric turbocharger, our cars will need bigger batteries.
With the regulators coming down on carmakers over the total emissions level of their fleets, the auto industry will have to change dramatically over the next few years, and signs have already begun to appear. Renault is talking about giving up on diesel, Volkswagen is busy planning 30 or so electric models by 2025, whereas Ford is looking for ways to making electric vehicle production more profitable.
"We want to become a top player in electrified solutions, and I call it moving from a compliance mind-set to one of leading where we can win, such as with our commercial vehicles," said Ford CEO Mark Fields, quoted by The Motley Fool. What that means is that Ford doesn't want to enter new segments with hybrids and electric vehicles, but instead plans to electrify the cars it presently sells best.
Ford is aware of its battery-powered electric cars handicap compared to other brands, so instead of investing a lot of money in this area, it plans to focus more on adding hybrid options to high-selling models. And that means pickups and SUVs. But why would U.S. buyers pay more for cars with alternative powertrains when gas is still cheap?
The answer is "don't make those hybrids that expensive in the first place." Batteries, more than anything else, are still costly, plus they add weight and pose all kinds of packaging problems, making the whole manufacturing process more difficult. Ford doesn't have a way around this at the moment, but by starting early, it wants to gather expertise and prepare its manufacturing process so that, over time, the production costs will drop.
In the meantime, it will use its best-selling models as image vectors for this new technology, much like it's doing right now with aluminum. Sure, we can already expect some Chevrolet ads where hybrid powertrains in pickups are ridiculized, but if the vehicles work, then Ford should be able to pull it off.
"We want to become a top player in electrified solutions, and I call it moving from a compliance mind-set to one of leading where we can win, such as with our commercial vehicles," said Ford CEO Mark Fields, quoted by The Motley Fool. What that means is that Ford doesn't want to enter new segments with hybrids and electric vehicles, but instead plans to electrify the cars it presently sells best.
Ford is aware of its battery-powered electric cars handicap compared to other brands, so instead of investing a lot of money in this area, it plans to focus more on adding hybrid options to high-selling models. And that means pickups and SUVs. But why would U.S. buyers pay more for cars with alternative powertrains when gas is still cheap?
The answer is "don't make those hybrids that expensive in the first place." Batteries, more than anything else, are still costly, plus they add weight and pose all kinds of packaging problems, making the whole manufacturing process more difficult. Ford doesn't have a way around this at the moment, but by starting early, it wants to gather expertise and prepare its manufacturing process so that, over time, the production costs will drop.
In the meantime, it will use its best-selling models as image vectors for this new technology, much like it's doing right now with aluminum. Sure, we can already expect some Chevrolet ads where hybrid powertrains in pickups are ridiculized, but if the vehicles work, then Ford should be able to pull it off.
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