Ford Abandons Pledge On Hybrid Production

Ford Motor Co. has dropped a pledge to build 250,000 gas-electric hybrid cars per year by the end of the decade, saying it will expand into other fuel-saving technologies.

Environmentalists accused the automaker of backpedaling, but industry analysts said the move underscored the difficulty the industry is having in selling the technology to mainstream car buyers.

Ford Chairman William C. Ford Jr. outlined the decision in a letter to employees Wednesday. The company made the letter public yesterday after details were reported in the Detroit News. In the letter, Ford said the 250,000 goal was “too narrow” to achieve substantial improvements in vehicle fuel economy or curb carbon dioxide emissions. He said that the company shouldn’t wed itself to a single technology and that Ford will consider other options, including diesel, biodiesel and ethanol fuel blend E85, as well as seek advances in engine and transmission technology.

Building a lot more hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles has been touted as a major component of the No. 2 U.S. automaker’s “Way Forward” turnaround plan. Like General Motors Corp., Ford’s North American business strategy has unraveled in the past year as consumers have turned away from their highest-profit vehicles: large cars and sport-utility vehicles.

Washington Post