FORD Motor Company is adopting “a deliberate pace” to introduce new hybrids and alternative-energy cars in the face of quicker rollouts by competitors General Motors and Toyota.

Ford needs the assurance of mass-market appeal and the prospect of strong sales before it throws its manufacturing weight behind new concepts, Ford executive David Finnegan announced in Denver.

“We don’t believe in making cars for hundreds of people or thousands of people,” said Finnegan, marketing manager of hybrid vehicles for Ford. “They have to be affordable to our customers and capable of sustaining millions (of vehicles) in sales volume.”

General Motors is expected to introduce, in 2010, its Volt, powered mostly by an electric motor with a small gasoline engine, to extend its range.

Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe said recently that fleet tests of a plug-in version of the hybrid Prius will be moved up to late next year from 2010. That model will also rely mostly on electric power.

Finnegan said a Ford plug-in hybrid could be introduced between 2013 and 2020. Fully electric Fords and models powered by fuel cells, advanced biofuels and hydrogen are tentatively positioned for “2020 and beyond”, he said. — Sapa