Ford said Wednesday that it will bid adieu to gasoline and diesel power in favor of electric cars in Europe by 2030.
By 2026, Ford says that 100 percent of the passenger cars it offers to European-market consumers will be either plug-in hybrids or fully electric. Just four years later, Ford says that it will cut gas and diesel engines out of its passenger car lineup in Europe entirely. Commercial vehicles like the Transit van will shift more slowly, but even then Ford says about two-thirds of its business-oriented vehicles will have a plug by 2030.
Ford is latest to go big with electric vehicles
Ford’s announcement follows that of other automakers, including General Motors and Jaguar, which have put a date on their plans to drop gas- or diesel-only engines.
Currently, Ford offers almost 20 electrified models in most European markets, far more than the four 2021 model-year plug-in vehicles it offers on the American market now that the automaker has stopped building the Fusion sedan.
Ford has not made any claim about when it will electrify its entire American-market lineup, however. One big step in its EV ambitions, however, is the recent launch of the all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV.
Still, here in the United States Ford’s sales are heavily dependent on pickup trucks. Though Ford now offers a hybrid F-150 and has said that an all-electric one is on its way, the vast majority of light- and heavy-duty trucks sold have gasoline or diesel engines with no electrification.
Ford rival Ram offers a 48-volt electrical system for its 1500 pickup, though it does not offer any sort of zero-emissions driving. General Motors, meanwhile, is reviving its Hummer brand as a division of GMC focused on electric pickups.
