What Happens Once Ford Cans Its Only Plug-In Hybrid?

The electric vehicle industry is a little rocky at the moment, with manufacturers around the world doing their best to tempt drivers to invest in the future. Even EV market leader Tesla was forced to offer price cuts on its models after it suffered slower sales growth in 2024, while the sales of hybrids and plug-in hybrids increased handily as people opt for the transitional technology in larger numbers.

Ford was another manufacturer that decided to invest heavily in full EVs rather than hybrids, and it has now come to a point where it’s hardly in a position to take advantage of the lucrative hybrid market. That’s because it only sells a single plug-in hybrid car, soon to be discontinued, leaving it only with regular serial hybrids of the F-150, Escape, and Maverick, or fully electric cars like the Mustang Mach-E. CarBuzz looked into the steps it should take next to make the most of the current automotive landscape.

2:02

Top 10 Plug-In Hybrid SUVs With The Best Electric Range Figures

If you want to buy a plug-in hybrid SUV, these are the top ten PHEVS based on all-electric range

This feature considers the options Ford has as it looks to discontinue its only remaining PHEV model in the US in 2025, with the EV market looking shaky.

Ford Is Set To End Production Of Its Only Remaining Hybrid In The US

Ford has had a hand in the hybrid market for years, with the brand introducing a hybrid-assisted version of its Escape SUV back in 2004, while a hybrid variant of its Fusion sedan later followed in 2009. The addition of an electric powertrain to the vehicle’s standard internal combustion engine helps improve fuel economy as the added electrical power means the engine needs to work less to accelerate the car, allowing it to save fuel.

From Mild Hybrids To Fully Electric Models: What Is An Electrified Car?

Here’s your guide to understanding different types of electrified vehicles.

This type of car has increased in popularity in recent years compared to full EVs as not only do they tend to be cheaper, but they’re also more frugal than a gas car thanks to the electrical assistance, and they can go long distances, eliminating EVs’ range anxiety. Many modern examples are also plug-in hybrids, which are hybrids with larger batteries that can be charged and be used in short doses with the engine switched off, working like an EV some of the time. This is ideal for city driving, where no gas needs to be used. When driving on faster roads, the engine can be used to keep the battery topped up and the gas tank extends the range.

Add CarBuzz to your Google News feed.

Because hybrids offer a reassuring transitional technology that retains gas power for people wary of taking the EV plunge, most drivers have opted to go in this direction. Ford has elected to focus primarily on EVs in the long term and is set to ax its only PHEV, the Escape Hybrid, in 2025. This is a dangerous strategy given the current popularity of PHEVs, and the issues affecting the EV market. Ford themselves have already suffered the consequences of this. The brand is also throwing away years of experience of developing hybrids, having been in the game for over 20 years at this point, and thus is in danger of being left behind in the sales war.

Discussion

How do hybrid cars work to make them more efficient than regular gas cars?

Hybrid cars give you better fuel economy than gas cars by having a gas engine along with electric motors that use the power stored in a battery. This isn’t the 12-volt that every car has, but more like what’s found in an electric vehicle, though smaller. That battery is recharged through regenerative braking, providing a constant source of extra power that allows a hybrid car to drive on electric power for short periods, thus saving gas.

The World Isn’t Ready For The EV Revolution

Ford has been at the forefront of the global push toward EVs, especially with the all-electric version of its Ford F-150 Lightning. The standard ICE F-Series was once again the best-selling vehicle in the US, the truck finding more than 730,000 new owners, around 200,000 more than the runner-up. Just over 33,000 of these were Lightnings though, and stock is piling up. It even had to pause production of the truck between November 2024 and January 2025 due to how few of the model it was shifting. While the Mustang Mach-E SUV has been selling decently so far, it’s not enough on its own to keep Ford’s accounts in the green.

8 Great Plug-In Hybrids For 2025

These are our favorite vehicles to help beat the corporate greed.

Ford Is Aware Of The Problem

Aside from the increased versatility and peace of mind of a PHEV versus an EV, the electric charging infrastructures in many countries around the world haven’t kept up with demand, which can affect the likelihood of drivers being able to charge their vehicles at the moments they need to most. This leads to range anxiety, making journeys more stressful than they should be. Given drivers face enough problems getting through long days at work and such, the last thing most owners want to do is spend a ton of money on a car, only to receive more headaches, especially if they are going to be driving longer distances and don’t know where they’ll be able to charge. Long-range EVs that can do 500 miles or more on a charge, like the Lucid Air, are still rare and expensive.

Tucson-Hybrid-vs-Tucson-Hybrid-plug-in feature image

Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Vs. Tucson Hybrid: Is The PHEV Worth It?

Hyundai’s Tucson has been refreshed for the 2025 model year, with the PHEV model sitting as the most expensive. We ask, is it worth it?

Ford is well aware of the problems afflicting the EV market at the moment, having detailed a plan in mid-2024 for a greater push for hybrid models in the near future, rather than purely focusing on enlarging its EV portfolio. This included canceling plans for a new electric three-row SUV and beginning work on new hybrid-powered SUVs instead.

Ford Has Ready-Made Options To Return To the PHEV Market

Ford’s Changing US EV Plans

Full EV models planned for 2027 scrapped, replaced by PHEV SUV models instead
Production of EV models like the F-150 Lightning scaled back to increase production on hybrid/ICE offerings
EV prices to be cut in at attempt to stimulate sales alongside new hybrid models

Even though Ford’s PHEV selection remains barren in the US, it is at least offering different models around the world. In Europe, for example, it offers hybrid versions of its Ranger pickup truck and Kuga compact SUVs. The Ranger PHEV could slot in alongside its standard ICE sibling in the US market, and would be a good option to boost hybrid sales in the short term. It could also afford the same treatment as the compact Maverick truck, which is currently only offered with a mild-hybrid system and selling well. Given the Maverick is at its best in tighter areas like cities, a full PHEV variant could prove useful.

A PHEV Bronco Sport Could Hit The Spot Too

Furthermore, Ford could make some use of the departing Escape model. The popular Bronco Sport compact SUV is built on the same platform, and would likely be a good foundation for a similar PHEV. The Bronco Sport features more aspirational heritage styling, and could prove a more appealing route to PHEV ownership for many buyers. Due to using the same underpinnings, Ford could even make use of the same 2.5-liter I4 hybrid powerplant already used in the Escape. It would be a good short-term option for injecting some life into its PHEV range before its new models come on stream from 2027.

All The Ford EVs And Hybrids America Is Missing Out On

While the US gets a fair range of Ford EVs, there are several that are only offered in other parts of the world. These are the vehicles in question.

Foreign PHEV Offerings Hint At Future US Plans

Ford PHEV Models Available In Europe

Ford Kuga PHEV
Ford Ranger PHEV
Ford Transit Custom PHEV
Ford Tourneo PHEV

Hopes that Ford will actually go through with plans to increase its PHEV portfolio in the US market are boosted when the efforts of its European are taken into account. While the EU version of the Escape, the Kuga, takes care of the compact SUV sector, the Ranger PHEV is available for the personal and commercial pickup-truck sector. The Transit Custom PHEV is available for drivers looking at picking up a van that can glide around towns and cities on pure electric power.

Ford Sales Are Down Despite Hybrid Sales Record

Hybrid sales may be the company’s future.

There is also a model called the Tourneo available in PHEV form, which is essentially a version of the Transit kitted out to carry extra passengers in the rear than objects. Its European approach shows that Ford is open to offering a range of PHEVs, and its recent decision to back off on EV production illustrates that it knows it needs to shake things up, at least in the short term. Drivers have voted with their wallets in recent times as far as the battle between EVs and PHEVs go and, for its sake, Ford needs to make sure it takes this seriously.

Sources: Ford.

Isbark.com