THE Ford Mustang is going electric to boost performance and make it more eco friendly.

It is one of 13 new electrified vehicles announced by Ford in a £570 million expansion.

Others coming on stream in the next few years include a plug-in version of the Transit Custom and an all-new fully electric small SUV with a range of up to 300 miles.

The development is being spearheaded from Ford's Flat Rock assembly plant in Michigan where 700 new jobs are being created to build high tech and autonomous vehicles.

Ford says it will be investing more than four billion dollars in electrified vehicles by 2020 which will include a V8 hybrid Mustang arriving in North American markets that year.

The plug-in hybrid Transit will be ready for testing in Europe later this year and is slated to be on general sale by 2019 while the new battery powered small SUV is scheduled to arrive in 2020 and will be sold in Europe, Asia and North America.

Mark Fields, Ford president and chief executive, said: "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.

"Our investments and expanding lineup reflect our view that global offerings of electrified vehicles will exceed gasoline-powered vehicles within the next 15 years."

As well as the new petrol-electric Mustang, Ford is also developing hybrid versions of the Lincoln Continental and the F500 pick-up truck as well as a self-driving vehicle which should be on the road in the US in 2021 where it will be used for ride sharing.

The investment at Flat Rock comes as Ford announced it was scrapping plans to build a new factory in Mexico and would be taking steps to safeguard 3,500 jobs at its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne which currently produces the Focus for American markets.