American automaker Ford has announced it will triple production capacity of electric vehicles through the year 2013.
Currently, the manufacturer has five different green models planned for 2012 – the Transit Connect, Focus Electric, C-Max Energi, C-Max Hybrid and a new hybrid coming soon.
Ford claims it produces 35,000 electrified vehicles a year, with the Fusion Hybrid and Escape Hybrid comprising most of the units, but that 100,000 cars will be produced annually by 2013.
The cars are slated to be manufactured at an assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan, a facility which produces gasoline cars, electric vehicles, hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
According to Ford, 120 jobs are being created due to the production expansion, many at plants that assemble lithium-ion batteries.
The bigger push for fuel efficient cars seems to be an effort to compete against vehicles like the Nissan Leaf, and more importantly the Chevy Volt.
Only time will tell which, if any, of the cars comes out a clear winner in the consumer market. However, one thing is clear: production for all of these vehicles may be increasing, but the numbers are still low and likely to stay that way in the near future.
