Ford CEO Jim Farley wants the industry to stop viewing hybrid vehicles as only an interim solution to be used until drivers are comfortable going fully electric.
“We should stop talking about it as transitional technology,” Farley said of hybrids at a Bernstein analyst conference on Thursday.
Plug-in hybrids, which include a small battery that can be used for shorter distances, may not be relevant in a few years, Farley said. However, extended-range hybrids are an important technology for the industry’s future, he said. Presumably, he was referring to vehicles similar to the Ram 1500 Ramcharger, which has a rather large battery pack, but also a gas engine generator to provide electricity when the battery has drained.