The strategy, which operates under the One Ford banner, has so far concentrated on shipping cars and technology from Europe to the United States, but in the next few years there will be a role reversal, according to a report by news agency Headlineauto.

The hybrid powertrain is being developed in the US and will eventually make it to Europe in the next-generation Mondeo and C-MAX. Ford is also hard at work on a new medium-large SUV, the Edge, and a new Mustang, both of which will be global cars for the first time.

Before then Ford will introduce a small Indian-built crossover, the EcoSport, to Europe, and there will be additions to its range of direct-injection turbocharged EcoBoost petrol engines.

‘You are starting to see the advantages of the One Ford strategy with the new hybrid system,’ said Joe Bakaj, the company's vice-president of powertrain engineering. ‘In the past we could not afford to bring it to Europe because the cars there were on different platforms to those in the US, but now it becomes possible. We're really excited by it.’

The third-generation system uses twin motors mounted in the gearbox to work in conjunction with a 2.0-litre Atkinson cycle petrol engine and a lithium-ion battery. There will be a conventional hybrid version for the Mondeo, but a plug-in system for the C-MAX.

‘It offers improved efficiency in every area of operation compared to the system we have now,’ said Bakaj. ‘We are looking to have CO2 emissions below 99g/km and a range of around 40 kilometres (25 miles) for the plug-in version. The combined power output is 180 horsepower.’