Expecting an electric version of Ford's Focus model in the next year, Ford Motor Co. Chairman William Ford said that the firm was hedging its bets when it came to electric car technology as they demand for electric cars were quite uncertain.

"Electric is a focus of investment”, Mr. Ford said during The Wall Street Journal's Conference in Santa Barbara, Calif. He also added that, "We still don't know what the winning technology is going to be... We're continuing to invest in hydrogen; we're continuing to invest in bio-fuels”.

Being unsure about the development of electric grid, Mr. Ford said that rather than developing a "stand-alone" electric vehicle, the firm had chosen to electrify its mainstream platform, which was the Focus.

He opined that developing a stand-alone vehicle might not appeal to car purchasers which could put the firm in a position of "having to shove them out the door, somehow".

Alluding to the recent, extreme difficulties encountered by the U. S. auto industry, Mr. Ford said that it became a downward spiral when they didn’t want to get in anymore.

A survey was conducted of economics conference attendees during Ford’s appearance and it concluded that half of the respondents wanted to purchase an electric car in the coming decade.