The sales for the EV models in the automotive market around the world stand at an extremely small percentage of total global sales for the industry. With that in mind, it might seem odd that automakers are working as hard as they are to bring more EV and hybrid models to the market and offer them to us. Whether you feel there should be an infrastructure in place before EV models are offered as much as gasoline models, many brands have announced they plan to continue to bring us more of the EV models to the market and give us options.

Why the Shift?

With the development of smaller engines that are able to offer us more power and more efficiency while using turbocharging, you might wonder why automakers are adding so many EV models to the market. So far, EVs haven’t been hot-selling vehicles but there are other reasons for this change in the market. There are different government agencies around the world that have announced a plan to have only hybrid and EV models sold in their markets by a specific year. This is enough to make automakers decide they need to ensure the development of their models will be able to be in line with these new goals and regulations.

Speaking of regulations; emissions levels that are tolerated and legal are going to be harder to meet, even for those engines that have forced induction. The aid of a hybrid powertrain or an EV makes it easy to have the emissions standards met because these models typically don’t offer any emissions at all. Regardless of why automakers are considering new EV models, the fact is this part of the market is about to be poised to explode and take over a large share of the sales from automakers.

The Ford Plan

Ford has been able to develop engines that are more powerful and capable than in the past with the EcoBoost lineup and now have announced a plan to enter the EV market. This recent announcement informs us that this brand will roll out thirteen EV models over the next five years to further enhance their commitment to these fuel-efficient models. These new EV models will span the market of the cars, SUVs, crossovers and pickup trucks to give us a full range of Ford models that can be had with this increased power that can offer lower emissions.

So far, Ford has invested $4.5 billion into the development of these new models and the hybrid version of the Ford Escape is slated to be the first to arrive on the market. This model will be part of the 2019 model year and it will be followed by the Ford Expedition and Ford F-150 which should both offer hybrid models in the 2020 model year. As an additional application, the Mustang will also be offered with an EV/hybrid powertrain around the same time to give us a look at how Ford will apply this technology to its iconic sports car. This is a step forward for Ford which has been a leader in the industry for over a century.