Ford say that they will offer a choice of three distinct electric vehicles in its European showrooms by 2014.

Next year we will see the arrival of the new C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid and the Mondeo Hybrid. They will join the Ford Focus Electric, a zero emission battery electric vehicle built in Saarlouis, Germany, which will arrive in Ireland in early 2014.

“Ford is leveraging our global experience and expertise to roll-out a range of electrified vehicles that offers a wide and compelling power of choice,” said Barb Samardzich, vice president, Product Development, Ford of Europe. “European customers care deeply about the environment and are increasingly seeing electrified vehicles as a way of balancing those concerns with a commitment to car ownership.”

Indeed, Ford is the manufacturer of the second-highest number of hybrid vehicles in the world and the company’s share of the electrified vehicle market has quadrupled in the past year in the U.S., where Ford recently announced electrified vehicle sales of about 46,000 units this year through June – more than 400 per cent increase compared with a year ago.

The Ford Focus Electric and C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid vehicles are already integrated into the transport infrastructure of Cologne, Germany, supporting the €13.2 million “colognE-mobil” research project, which could provide a template for the potential roll-out of electric vehicle infrastructures in further cities across Germany.

A Ford -sponsored poll shows most Europeans are concerned about the environment and believe the biggest problem facing the world today is climate change. However, the survey of 6,000 people across Europe also found many people are unsure of how to lead a greener lifestyle, that most are committed to car ownership, and that the overwhelming majority see electrified vehicles as better for the environment.

Ford first produced an electrified vehicle exactly 100 years ago when the company built a non-production electrified version of the Ford Model T. The joint project between Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford and inventor Thomas Edison to create a “cheap and practicable… electric automobile” was hampered by the limited battery technology of the time.