Ford May Show A 200-Mile Electric Car This Year To Counter Chevy Bolt: UPDATE

The announcement that the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt electric car will go into production within 18 months seemingly sent shockwaves through the auto industry.

GM's crosstown rival Ford, which has sold hybrids for more than 10 years but shown little love for battery-electric cars, now seems to feel the need to respond.

According to reports, Ford will now unveil its own 200-mile battery electric car--this year.

DON'T MISS: 2017 Chevrolet Bolt 200-Mile Electric Car To Start Production In Oct 2016

The news was reported Tuesday by Automobile magazine, which said simply that Ford would unveil a competitor to the 200-mile Bolt electric car.

The second sentence of the article began, "Scant details are available."

And the piece ends: "Ford's official word is that the story is not accurate."

UPDATE: Said Deep, who is Ford's North American Product Communications Manager, contacted Green Car Reports after this story was published, with the following statement: "We do not comment on speculation but can confirm these reports are not accurate."

We spent much of yesterday talking to various sources in the industry who--as usual in such circumstances--declined to be identified or go on the record.

Here's what we've pieced together from those sources.

First, Ford was caught very much off-guard by GM's announcement. The carmaker is now "scrambling to respond," said one source.

The world's fifth-largest auto manufacturer may now feel vulnerable for not having a strong product among the battery-electric cars it has historically dismissed.

While Ford has offered its Focus Electric for more than three years, it has delivered just over 4,600 of the battery-electric hatchback. During that time, Nissan sold 66,500 Leafs.

ALSO SEE: Ford Can Design Tesla-Like Electric Car, CEO Says (Oct 2014)

Second, the carmaker's plans for an electric Bolt competitor are so new that as of 10 days ago, even such questions as its size--compact or subcompact--apparently hadn't been settled.

That may indicate that the entire program kicked into high gear only after February 6, when GM announced its production plans for its 200-mile Bolt electric car, at volumes around 25,000 cars per year.

Odds are a 200-mile Ford electric car would end up as a compact vehicle, as today's Focus Electric is.

One source suggested the car might possibly be sold as a Lincoln, bringing a dose of high-tech attention to a luxury brand struggling to survive--not to mention a higher price tag.

On the other hand, Ford CEO Mark Fields said last October that the company had the engineering ability and product development staff to build an electric car like a Tesla.

While he didn't say Ford would do so, Fields called such a car "very consistent with our product strategy"--perhaps giving a nod to the Lincoln notion.

Third, while Ford may show a concept version of a planned electric car this year, it is at least four years away from Job One, the first production version of any new Ford electric car.

Such a vehicle wouldn't roll off the assembly lines until late 2018 or sometime in 2019 at the earliest. At best, Ford's unnamed electric car will trail the 2017 Bolt by at least a year, but more likely two or three.

MORE: 2015 Ford Focus Electric Price Cut To $29,995, A $6K Drop

Fourth, if it does produce such a car, Ford will do so for two different reasons.