Ford Intends to Join Long Range Electric Car Market
Ford Motor Co. is feeling the heat from competing car manufacturers Tesla Motors Inc. and General Motors Co., particularly in the long-range electric vehicle segment. Actually, the American brand has not had a line of vehicles that can be described as part of that segment, but that is expected to change with the announcement that it will be entering the market sooner than later.
By definition, a long-range electric vehicle is a battery-powered variety that has the capability of going at least 200 miles or even more on a single charge. Presently, only Tesla and General Motors lay claim to having the biggest shares in this particular market.
Ford CEO Mark Fields relayed his company's ambitious plans during a conference call last week with several reporters, experts, and analysts. "We want to make sure that we're either among the leaders or in a leadership position," he said. He added that they want to develop models that can directly compete with the existing industry leaders, but he did not specify as to when they're going to start building.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
So far, there are only very few options for consumers who are looking to switch from the traditional fuel-powered vehicles to the more environment friendly electric cars. One factor that seems to be slowing down the transition is the fact that many of those previously announced models weren't really capable of covering extra miles without charging. To date, the most popular fully electric-powered vehicles include the Nissan Leaf, which the Japanese manufacturer earlier revealed will have a longer distance in its next generation, the Chevrolet Bolt with a range of at least 200 miles, and the Tesla Model 3 that is expected to be released next year.
Quite interestingly, Ford seems to be very interested in what Tesla has done so far. As a matter of fact, the company once purchased a Tesla Model X, a sport utility vehicle that also is electric-powered. For now, it's too early to say why there aren't a lot of people showing interest in electric-powered vehicles. One reason may be because the initial cost of purchasing one is too high or perhaps it is a little inconvenient to drive something that can run out of power in just a few miles. But if indeed Ford and the other leading companies are able to succeed in extending the driving range to at least 200 miles, then there's hope for this transition to finally happen.
