Ford will invest $4.5 billion in electric cars - and wants to compete with Uber and Lyft

Thomson ReutersThe corporate logo of Ford is seen at a Ford branch in Caracas

Dearborn, Mich. - Ford Motor Co wants to develop ride hailing services that could compete with existing players such as Uber or Lyft, the company's head of research said Thursday.

"Our vision is to be a mobility service provider, beyond building a vehicle that would be in somebody else's fleet," said Ken Washington, Ford's vice president of research. "We see this as a business we want to be in."

Ford also announced that it will spend billions on its electric-car ambitions.

Ford is adding 13 new electrified vehicles to its portfolio by 2020, when more than 40 percent of the company's global nameplates will come in electrified versions. This represents Ford's largest-ever electrified vehicle investment in a five-year period," the automaker said in a statement.

(Reporting By Joe White; Editing by Alden Bentley)