Ford to unveil solar hybrid concept car

Ford announced on Thursday plans to unveil a plug-in electric vehicle that uses solar panels on its roof to recharge.

The vehicle, dubbed the C-Max Solar Energi, will be on display at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week, the Michigan-based company said in a statement on Thursday, according to Bloomberg.

Using only electric power, the vehicle can travel about 21 miles and has a total range of roughly 620 miles. On its roof, it has 300 watts to 350 watts of SunPower Corp. solar cells.

The vehicle might signal a shift in production of rechargeable cars that don’t need to be plugged in, said Mike Tinskey of Ford.

According to estimates, Ford sold more than 85,000 hybrids and electric vehicles in 2013.