If fuel efficiency is a top priority in the next vehicle you purchase, Ford thinks it's got a pretty solid portfolio for you to choose from... and I think you'll probably agree.

By year-end, Ford will be offering eight vehicles that deliver 40 mpg or better; double its number versus 2011 and more than any other full-line automaker. In fact, Ford’s eight-vehicle tally is more than the number of 40-mpg-or-better vehicles Toyota and General Motors offer combined.

Ford also is tripling its electrified vehicle production capacity by 2013, growing its electrified vehicle lineup to six models – including the all-new C-MAX Hybrid. The compact hybrid utility vehicle, which arrives this fall, is expected to achieve 47 mpg, at least 3 mpg better than Toyota Prius with more performance and technology.

Ford plans for 10 to 25 percent of its global sales to be electrified vehicles (hybrids, plug-in hybrids and full electric vehicles) by 2020, and continues to find ways to make more affordable, high-volume, internal-combustion engines even more fuel efficient.

The company notes that the EcoBoost powertrains are now a mainstay in Ford’s lineup. In fact, Ford’s annual EcoBoost production is expected to grow to nearly 1.6 million engines globally by 2013 – surpassing the company’s original target for that time frame.

A 1.0-liter EcoBoost – Ford’s smallest, quietest engine ever – arrives in one of Ford’s U.S. small cars next year. Already on sale in the European Focus, the 1.0-liter engine was named the 2012 International Engine of the Year which we reported earlier.

Additional 1.6-, 2.0- and 3.5-liter EcoBoost engines are already available on Escape, Explorer, Edge, F-150, Flex, Focus ST, Fusion, Police Interceptor sedan and utility vehicles, and Taurus.

Interestingly, Ford production is stealing a page out of the playbook that --decades ago-- enabled competitors to gain global market share...

In 2011, the company had 22 distinct vehicle platforms in use around the world. That number drops to 10 by 2017, ahead of One Ford plan goals. Five of these will be manufactured in at least more than one region.

By 2016, 80 percent of Ford’s planned 8 million vehicles will be based on the five global platforms.