Ford Confirms 200 Mile Electric Car for 2017

The future of engine building both on the diesel side as well as gasoline will continue to push towards hybrids and full on electric engines. Ford Motor Company announced this week that they are developing an electric vehicle with a range of 200 miles. CEO Mark Fields confirmed the speculation in a conference call with investors.

Details are few and far between at this point but the announcement shouldn’t be taken with a grain of salt as Ford executives are usually reluctant to discuss future vehicles. No details about the vehicle or the timeframe when we could see the engine were released.

Ford already has an electric vehicle on the market, The Focus, which currently gets less than 100 miles per charge. Fields did mention that the 2017 Ford Focus will improve its range to over 100 miles for the first time while remaining competitive at its current price point.

Tesla's New Gamechanger Engine

The leader in electric vehicles, Tesla has already announced that the new Tesla Model 3 will be an affordable 200-miler electric engine however it is not slated for launch until late 2017 and if past history is an indication, it could be delayed beyond that timeline stretching into 2018. The Tesla Model 3 will start at $35,000. There is a huge demand in an affordable electric car. Already 400,000 would be customers have secured their place in line to purchase the Tesla 3 with a $1,000 deposit.

The 200 miles mark seems to be the proverbial holy grail in the electric car industry. It looks like the first automaker to hit that mark will be General Motors which will be launching the Chevrolet Bolt this fall. The Chevy Bolt will go 200+ miles between charges and is slated to be priced at $37,500.

Other big players in the industry are right on the heels of the big 3 automakers. Hyundai will be introducing the new Ioniq electric car with a range of about 110 miles, which should be similar to the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3 and the Ford Focus. Nissan, a first to market an electric vehicle some years back, stated that the Nissan Leaf will offer a 200 mile range capability starting in 2018.

There will always be an immediate need for diesel engines in medium and heavy duty applications simply for the energy output of the fuel needed for torque capacity but it looks like electric engines will be the wave of the future this century. The EPA tier ratings have made diesel's cleaner as well as automotive vehicles. Cummins recently unviled an engine that will cut 90% NOx emissions. It is good that the automakers are recognizing this trend instead of fighting the old guard. Ford has committed $4.5 billion to reinvigorate it electric vehicle line having a goal of 40% of its fleet electrified in the next 20 years.