Mustang Hybrid among 13 new electric Ford cars that will soon be a reality

Ford is building 13 new electric cars, including groundbreaking models like an F-150 Hybrid pick-up, a 300-mile electric SUV and a hybrid Mustang.

Seven of the new models will be released by 2020, the company announced on Tuesday. Ford is currently investing $700 million toward creating new eco-friendly cars like two electrified police vehicles. It's all part of a larger $4.5 billion effort to produce more EV models in the next couple years. But the automaker is making some other big changes, too.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Ford's chief executive, Mark Fields, said the company is cancelling plans for a new $1.6 billion plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and adding 700 jobs to its assembly plant in Flat Rock, Michigan. The announcement drew cheers from hundreds of workers at the Flat Rock plant, the New York Times reported.

“I don’t know if you can really understand the impact of this investment,” Jimmy Settles, a vice president of the United Auto Workers union who represents Ford workers, told the Times. “This is the equivalent to a new assembly plant.”

The decision comes amid growing criticism from figures like Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump of U.S. policies on free trade. Trump once called Ford's Mexico plans "an absolute disgrace."

The American car company is also doing the unexpected by bringing its electrical efforts to some of its best-known traditional models, from the F-150 pick-up to the Mustang. It is also piloting wireless technology that could make recharging your electric car as easy as pulling into a parking spot.

There's also a self-driving car in the works that could be used for ride hailing or ride sharing. Ford is testing hybrid taxi and van prototypes in "some of the world’s most demanding traffic conditions" like New York and other major U.S. cities, it announced on Tuesday.

“As more and more consumers around the world become interested in electrified vehicles, Ford is committed to being a leader in providing consumers with a broad range of electrified vehicles, services and solutions that make people’s lives better,” Mark Fields, Ford's president and CEO, said in a statement.

Since 2005, Ford has sold more than 520,000 electrified vehicles in North America and 560,000 globally.