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Ford to Invest £8bn in Electric Cars

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16 January 2018

By Alex Khalil

Car company Ford says it will boost its investment in electric vehicles to $11bn (£8bn), more than double its previous commitment.

Chairman, Bill Ford, said the carmaker would have 40 hybrid and electric vehicles in its vast car range by 2022. This comes after countries around the world have put more pressure on carmakers to reign in carbon emissions. General Motors, Toyota and Volkswagen have already outlined ambitious plans to offer more electric alternatives.

Speaking at the Detroit Auto Show on Sunday, Mr Ford said the focus would be on converting current Ford models without naming any specific cars. He said the firm would, by 2022, offer 24 plug-in hybrids and 16 fully electric vehicles.

Mr Ford told reporters:

‘We’re all in on this and we’re taking our mainstream vehicles, our most iconic vehicles, and we’re electrifying them.

If we want to be successful with electrification, we have to do it with vehicles that are already popular.’

Stephanie Brinley, a senior automotive analyst at HIS Markit, said that this was part of a larger trend of car makers investing in electrifying their cars. In 2016, America’s biggest carmaker GM said that it would add 20 new battery, electric and fuel cell vehicles to its range by 2023. Volkswagen said in November, it would spend $40bn on electric cars, auto driving and mobility services by the end of 2022.

This $11bn investment pledge is higher than a previously announced target of $4.5bn by 2020 and was helped by new chief executive Jim Hackett.

Everything is smart now, so why not have a smart car?

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