Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) won't be rolling out hybrid vehicles at the pace of the competition, the company said recently. Instead, the troubled automaker is taking a "deliberate pace" introducing hybrids to ensure there is enough mass-market appeal for the vehicles. Ford wants to avoid spending hundreds of millions on hybrid technology that exceeds what the population wants.The competition is chomping at the bit to get hybrids of all shapes and sizes into the hands of consumers -- but do consumers really want to switch to more fuel efficient hybrids so quickly? Smaller cars like the Ford Focus are selling like hotcakes, which indicates that consumers are interested in fuel efficiency -- but not necessarily hybrids, which tend to have less space and cost thousands more. Think consumers interested in hybrids are doing it to be green? I would disagree -- they're looking for lower gas bills, plain and simple.
Ford hybrid marketing manager David Finnegan said, "We don't believe in making cars for hundreds of people or thousands of people . . . they have to be affordable to our customers and capable of sustaining millions (of vehicles) in sales volume." Well said. Until there is more actual demand, Ford's decision to develop hybrid vehicles in a delayed and deliberate fashion is a sound choice.
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