Eight Years Ago, Ford Announced A High-Volume Autonomous Hybrid

Plans, as they say, often change, and for various reasons. This is especially true in the automotive world, where companies are continuously changing strategies and product plans based on many factors, whether they be of the macroeconomic kind or simply to match ever-evolving consumer tastes. Ford has certainly shifted gears on numerous occasions over the years, and it’s oftentimes a fun exercise to look back and see just how The Blue Oval’s strategy has evolved in recent times. For example, it’s been eight years since the automaker announced that it intended to launch a high-volume autonomous hybrid vehicle.

Back in January 2017, Ford announced a bevy of future plans, including – as Ford Authority previously reported – that a hybrid Ford Mustang was slated to join its lineup in 2020. That obviously never happened, and today – eight years later – such a model still doesn’t exist, even if rumors seem to suggest that it’s still in the works. Regardless, we’re also seemingly a long way from seeing a Ford brand autonomous hybrid vehicle roaming the streets, too – in any capacity, let alone high volume.

Ford officially stated that this “high-volume autonomous vehicle designed for commercial ride hailing or ride sharing” would debut in 2021, was slated to be built at the Flat Rock Assembly plant (alongside the Mustang and Lincoln Continental) and that it would initially launch in North America. To support this new model and the hybrid Mustang, Ford also announced that it was adding 700 new direct jobs and investing $700 million over the span of four years, all while creating a new Manufacturing Innovation Center at Flat Rock. The self-driving model was slated to be an “all-new small utility vehicle with extended battery range.”

A lot has changed since this announcement, but robotaxis are indeed beginning to become more and more prevalent as of late. Currently, Waymo dominates this small but growing market, though Tesla just revealed a robotaxi of its own, and Ford is reportedly mulling a rival to both. In the meantime, Ford created a new subsidiary called Latitude AI back in March 2023, which is developing new automated driving technology with an initial focus on a hands-free, eyes-off driver assist system for next-generation Ford vehicles.