The majority of automobiles sold by Ford will be electric within the next decade, according to Ford CEO Alan Mullaly. The automaker has already announced plans to have a battery-powered version of its Transit work van on the market in 2010, and an electric family sedan available in 2011. Ford is working with auto supplier Magna International on its electric vehicle technologies.
“In 10 years, 12 years, you are going to see a major portion of our portfolio move to electric vehicles,” Mulally said at the Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics conference in Santa Barbara, according to Reuters.
“Ten years is going to come very quickly and I think we’ll have a significant improvement in the fuel efficiency in the internal combustion engine,” Mulally noted. “You’ll see more hybrids, but you will really see a lot more electric vehicles.”
Ford is said to be seeking $5 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy’s green car loan program. The DOE program has a total of $25 billion available, none of which has yet been dispersed. Tesla is seeking $350 million from the fund, while GM and Chrysler want over $8 billion each.
Ford has not received any “bailout” money from the U.S. government. Mullaly says his company is financially stable and can complete its restructuring without government aid. “We went to Washington to help GM and Chrysler, we didn’t need the money,” he said.
