The drive toward broad commercialisation of low-emission, fuel-efficient electrified vehicles is gaining ground as Ford Motor Company confirmed it is on track to deliver five electrified vehicles for launch in North America by 2012 and European markets by 2013.

Ford’s commitment to extend its global electrified vehicles strategy will see the introduction of a full battery-electric Ford Transit Connect in 2011, and a battery-electric derivative of the next-generation Ford Focus, due in 2012. 

Ford’s Valencia Plant in Spain will build the company’s first hybrid models for European customers with two advanced technology derivatives of the all-new five-seat Ford C-MAX compact multi-activity model to be launched in 2013 – a full hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). The fifth vehicle will also be a next-generation hybrid-electric model and will be announced at a later time.

“Our plan to deliver five electrified Ford vehicles as promised is well underway, which is great news for our customers both here in Europe and in North America,”saidStephen Odell, chairman and CEO of Ford of Europe today at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. “The new advanced powertrain technologies we are applying progressively across our entire portfolio further strengthen Ford’s commitment to delivering significant fuel economy improvements and reduced CO2 emissions to meet our customers’ functional needs without compromising their driving experience.”

While North America continues to be the dominant market for hybrid sales, European interest in the segment is rising. According to R.L. Polk & Company, a leading auto industry market research firm,European hybrid vehicle sales are projected to double between 2010 and 2012. Other researchers project worldwide hybrid sales to top 6 million units per year by 2020, with the volume leaders being the U.S., Europe and China.

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