Detroit — Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. told government and industry leaders Wednesday that his company is serious about building electric cars.

But he stressed that the automobile industry cannot make the shift to greener technology alone and called for a concerted effort to build the infrastructure these vehicles will require.

“We stand at the threshold of a revolution,” Bill Ford said during a keynote address at “The Business of Plugging In” conference . “This isn’t just an R&D experiment for us. We have real vehicles. We’ve placed big bets. And they start coming off the line next year.”

Ford’s first commercial electric vehicle, a battery-powered version of its Transit Connect van, will go on sale to fleet customers in 2010. The Dearborn automaker also has announced plans to produce a battery-powered version of its new Focus compact for consumers in 2011, to be followed by a new generation of hybrids and plug-in hybrid cars and trucks.

“The question is will customers want these vehicles?” he said. “Customers aren’t prepared to make many trade-offs at all. It’s our collective job to make sure they don’t have to.”

He said Ford has done its part, adding that these vehicles will deliver performance and features on par with their gasoline-powered siblings.

But he said the government, utility companies and other key players have to do their part as well.

Government incentives for consumers are needed to make electric vehicles affordable, at least until production volumes reach the point that automakers can achieve the economies of scale necessary to lower their cost, Bill Ford said. But even with incentives, he said few consumers will be willing to make the switch until charging facilities become “ubiquitous.”

Anthony Earley Jr., chairman and CEO of DTE Energy, pledged that power providers would do their part.

“As an industry, we’re eager to collaborate with automakers and others to bring (electric vehicles) to the road,” he said. “We pledge to move forward aggressively to do what it takes to support the full-scale of commercialization and deployment of plug-in electric vehicles. We recognize that now is the time to step up and redouble our efforts to lay the groundwork for making plug-in electric transportation a reality in this country.”

Bill Ford pointed to Europe’s conscious shift to clean diesel technology as a model for the United States. There, governments place high taxes on gasoline and provide incentives to encourage the use of diesel, which is more efficient .

In a related development, Ford announced a new research partnership with the University of Michigan on Wednesday aimed at speeding the development of hybrid vehicles.

They are analyzing data from thousands of road trips to find ways to modify a vehicle’s electronic controls to eke out greater fuel economy while improving driving performance.

“The new hybrid controller design method we have created has the potential to offer consumers more choice in how efficient and drivable their vehicles are,” said Jessy Grizzle, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Michigan . “I envision hybrids of the future featuring multiple modes or offering customers the ability to customize their driving experience.”