During this year’s North American International Auto Show in January, Ford Motor Co. announced plans to produce an electric sedan and an electric cargo van by 2011, and Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, Jr. felt good about his company’s direction. He spoke extensively about the industrywide move toward electric vehicles. Below are select questions from the event.

Q: Is there a risk in pursuing electric vehicles?

A: There is risk. We’ve all seen within the last few months the shift that’s happened within the U.S. market, which [has led customers] back to the trucks, back to the SUVs. And that’s purely a function of fuel prices. And that’s why I think that it’s temporary, and I think when the economy does pick up, we’ll see that spike back up. We are betting, long term, that fuel becomes dear and that energy independence becomes important to not only Americans but to people around the world. Of course there’s risk, but I think the bigger risk is doing nothing.

A: There is risk. We’ve all seen within the last few months the shift that’s happened within the U.S. market, which [has led customers] back to the trucks, back to the SUVs. And that’s purely a function of fuel prices. And that’s why I think that it’s temporary, and I think when the economy does pick up, we’ll see that spike back up. We are betting, long term, that fuel becomes dear and that energy independence becomes important to not only Americans but to people around the world. Of course there’s risk, but I think the bigger risk is doing nothing.

Q: One of the issues with having a large fleet of plug-in vehicles is the charging infrastructure. What is Ford doing in this regard, and what are your thoughts on what Better Place is doing? [Editor’s note: Better Place is an electric vehicle services provider that is developing EV driver services, systems and infrastructure. Subscribers and guests will have access to a network of charge spots and switch stations.]

A: We’ve spent a lot of time with Better Place to understand what they’re doing and how they’re doing it and what the expectations are for the [automakers] because it’s a very interesting model. We are not dogmatic, we’re very open-minded. Before this game is played out you’ll see us adopt a number of different strategies and technologies because it’s very, very early and it would be incredibly presumptuous for us to say that we have the answer and we know how this end game is going to look like. No matter what energy source we’re going to go [with], we can’t do this unilaterally. We need national attention on this and if it is electric, then we need to figure out how we’re going to balance the grid or the grid loading. Do we have enough power plants and if not, how are we going to fire them?

Q: During his campaign, President Obama set a goal of a million plug-in hybrids by 2015 with preferably domestically produced batteries. How do we get to a million plug-in cars by 2015?

A: First of all, you’ve got to walk before you run. We don’t know what the true demand is going to be. The fact that we’re doing these on global platforms allows us to flex up, assuming the supply base is there, because we’ll have the vehicles, which I think is really important. Energy policy will clearly play an important role in terms of what the ultimate numbers are and how fast we ramp up. If they [the Obama administration] put the enabling legislation in place to help make that happen …

Q: What is the enabling legislation?

A: You could do it through a combination of a gas tax or incentives on these new vehicles, either, or, or together. Maybe a scrapage program, which would then incent you to go to the new technology.

Q: Given that our new president wants to do something about energy, what if Ford were to say publically that America needs to do a gas tax or something similar?

A: I have talked about a gas tax probably for five years but [for] politicians, it’s been a really long start. Here’s the issue. Every time we’ve tried that in the past, they say “fix your own problems first.” There’s that attitude. The net result is that we kind of fixed our own issue. When you speak out often about the need to do a national “X,” whatever “X” is, they read that as code for “you’re passing the buck,” “you’re not solving your own problems,” “you’re whining” or “you’re trying to deflect attention away from yourself to the politicians.”

Q: How do you go about trying to rationalize how much it costs to charge an electric vehicle overnight in different parts of the country that are served by different energy companies?

A: That unfortunately won’t be our call. We’re gonna be at the mercy of the utility and if it stays as it is today, it will be very much within their local utility. And it may be different for Missouri, versus Ohio, versus Michigan. But if there is a national energy plan, and the utilities are part of that, then you probably will have some harmonization across the country. That part isn’t within our control but clearly that’s got to be of national interest.

Q: With today’s cheap gas, will people pay extra money for a hybrid let alone an extended range electric vehicle? What kind of lobbying are you prepared to do to deal with this problem?

A: Whether it’s incentive, whether it’s a tax, whether it’s a blend, whether it’s another innovative kind of program, I do think this technology is going to need a boost from the government in terms of … ubiquitous adoption. I think we’ll have early adoption regardless of what happens but I think beyond that, if you want ubiquity, I think we’re gonna have to have policy. And I certainly am not advocating for any particular action in terms of that policy.

Q: Are you betting only on electrification as a means to conserve fuel in the future?

A: The energy policy that ultimately emerges from Washington clearly, I think, will have an electrification component to it but it may have others that also are germane to us. If hydrogen ultimately is the Holy Grail, and I don’t’ know that it is, but we’ll be ready to go down that road as well. What I feel really good about in terms of Ford is that we’ve left all the doors open to us, [and] a lot of our competitors, both domestic and international, have not. And so whichever way it breaks, we’ll be there with the hardware and the technology.

Q: Is rear-wheel drive and traditional performance on its last legs at Ford, with the Mustang being the last of the breed?

A: If you want a pure sports car, it’s [rear-wheel drive] still the best way to go and ultimately the customer will decide how much value there is in it. That’s really going to be a marketplace decision in terms of what the customers are looking for. … I fell on my sword figuratively when the company was going to do a front-wheel Mustang. And to me that would’ve been a travesty beyond all travesties and thankfully it didn’t happen. … Still, that basic configuration is, for pure horsepower, fun to drive. It’s tough to beat. But the market will decide because there are fewer of those customers on a big level out there. … I’m not gonna predict tonight the demise of rear-wheel drive because it’s no secret, I collect Mustangs, I’m a Mustang lover, I guess I’m a little schizophrenic, because I also drive electric vehicles.