Ford CEO, Mark Fields, has confirmed the company is readying its response to the Model 3 and Bolt EVs.
Asked on a possible 200-mile (322 km) range battery-electric car, Fields said the Blue Oval wants to be “among the leaders or in a leadership. Clearly, that’s something we’re developing for”, according to an AutomotiveNews report.
Part of Ford’s plan to add 13 hybrid or electric vehicles by the end of the decade, the new EV is believed to be the Model E, after the automaker gained the rights to use the nameplate two years ago after a “dispute” with Tesla Motors.
The Model E is believed to show its face in 2019 and be assembled at a new plant in Mexico. It will ride on the architecture of the next generation Focus, but will have a bespoke bodywork. Besides serving as a replacement for the Focus Electric, with its 76-mile (122 km) range that’s set to be increased to 100 miles (161 km) this fall, the Model E is believed to gain hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions, succeeding the C-Max Hybrid and C-Max Energi PHEV.
Note: Ford Focus Electric pictured
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