Amid a storm of electrification announcements that included plans for hybridized Mustang and F-150 variants, Ford said it plans to build a fully electric crossover SUV with at least 300 miles of range by 2020. The vehicle will be assembled at the automaker?s Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan as part of a $700 million investment at the facility and is slated to be sold in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Ford president and CEO Mark Fields wrote Tuesday that the small utility ?will be a breakthrough vehicle for Ford, given its extended range and the versatility people love about SUVs.? Beyond those tidbits, Ford was mum on details of the forthcoming EV. ?We?ll have more details about it at a later date,? company spokesman Mike Levine told Car and Driver when reached for comment. In total, Ford announced plans for seven of the 13 new electrified vehicles it said will be introduced in the next five years as part of a $4.5 billion investment. The new models will include traditional hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and fully electric vehicles. Globally, Fields said, the company sees electrified offerings outnumbering conventional vehicles in the next 15 years as consumers shift toward urban areas and as battery-pack prices fall.
Competition Is Thin

A handful of automakers are in the process of launching electric crossover vehicles, with Tesla’s Model X already on the market. The ?falcon winged? Model X has an all-electric range of about 289 miles and a starting sti...