Ford plans $11 billion investment, 40 electric vehicles by 2022

The manufacturer plans to release 40 hybrid and fully electric cars by this point.

Of the 40 EVs planned for Ford's global line-up, 16 will be fully electric and the rest will be plug-in hybrids.

Ford's new CEO, Jim Hackett, has been working on a new electrification plan since being appointed a year ago.

Mainstream auto makers are reacting in part to pressure from regulators in China, Europe and California to slash carbon emissions from fossil fuels. "We're starting to telegraph where we're going to play in electrified business around the world, and that is to electrify iconic nameplates, and it's going to be higher transaction-price vehicles".

Since then, however, Ford has becoming increasingly focused on electric and smart vehicles. His deputy James Hackett vowed to cut costs and eliminate some of the cars in the series to redirect the company's future to pickup, SUV and electric vehicles. The company will begin production of a hybrid version of its popular F-150 truck at a plant in Dearborn, Michigan, in 2020.

"This $11bn you're seeing, that means we're all in now", he said.

Ford has been lagging behind in all-electric vehicle programs since its first vehicle created to be electric from the ground up is only planned for 2020.

Ford's shift to e-mobility has been more than six months in the making, after CEO Jim Hackett replaced his predecessor Mark Fields in May.

Last October Ford formed "Team Edison" to "own the strategy, own the planning, and interface into the trend" of EV development and production.

Jim Farley, Ford's President of global markets, said that "what we learned from this first cycle of electrification is people want really nice products", urging the industry to "think big" as the competition between automakers increases.