SAE WCX 2022: ICE won't melt amid shift to EVs

The transition to electrified vehicles in OEM port-folios is progressing, but internal combustion engines (ICE) will continue to power millions of new vehicles for a still undetermined period, according to top powertrain executives. “Let's just say that by the end of the decade, it's a 50/50 mix of ICE and BEV [battery electric vehicles]. But that 50 percent ICE is going to be heavily influenced by the hybrids,” David Filipe, VP of vehicle hardware modules at Ford Motor Co., said during the April 7 “The Future Powertrain-Propulsion Portfolio Challenge” panel session at April's SAE WCX 2022 conference in Detroit.

Filipe offered this statistic: Of the orders taken to date for the 2022 Ford Maverick, 67% are for the compact pickup's standard hybrid powertrain, a 2.5-L Atkinson-cycle 4-cylinder SAE-rated at 191 hp (142 kW) when combined with the electric motor. Maverick's optional engine is a 2.0-L EcoBoost 250-hp (186-kW) gasoline engine. Ford will launch more hybrids in the future, Filipe confirmed.