Ford is preparing for a major shift toward electric and hybrid vehicles over the next few years as part of its plan to regain economic viability. Automotive News reports: 

Ford Motor Co. expects electric vehicles will represent a “major portion” of its lineup a decade from now as the automaker breaks away from a recent reliance on pickup trucks and SUVs, CEO Alan Mulally said.

“In 10 years, 12 years, you are going to see a major portion of our portfolio move to electric vehicles,” Mulally said at the Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics conference in Santa Barbara, California.

Ford has outlined plans for a range of battery-powered and hybrid vehicles over the next several years but the comments by Mulally represented one of the clearest indications of the automaker’s longer-term plans for electric car technology.

If the U.S. can make serious progress toward building an infrastructure for electric vehicles over the next decade, Ford could be in a very strong position to dominate that market. They’re already in a much stronger financial position than GM and Chrysler and if they can get in early and dominate the market for the next generation of cars, the sky is the limit.