Ford to boost production of hybrid cars in US

Jun 22, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Detroit - In anticipation of a boom in zero-emission and low-consumption cars, Ford has announced that it is trebling its production of fuel-efficient vehicles to more than 100,000 units by the year 2013 on the North American market.

Ford said it will offer only a petrol-electric hybrid and plug-in electric version of the C-Max that will go into production next year at Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne.

Jim Farley, head of Ford's marketing, sales and service, said there had been a turn among American customers to more fuel-efficient vehicles with prices at the pump in the US at around four dollars per gallon. He said customers were looking more at consumption irrespective of buying a sub compact commuting car or a pick-up.

Toyota remains the market leader in the US when it comes to hybrids and the announcement by Ford comes shortly after Toyota announced that it would soon offer a larger Prius V on the American market.

The C-Max sells in Europe both as a petrol and diesel-engined version. Ford is planning an electric-version of the compact Focus model for later this year on the European market.