Morgan to add hybrid, electric drivetrains to its range from 2019

Morgan says that that all up around 6 million pounds ($12.4 million) has been earmarked for the project, with some, or possibly all, of that coming from a grants and advocacy body funded by the British government and industry contributors.

Development will be conducted in conjunction with Morgan partners' Delta Motorsport and Potenza Technology. Morgan expects development to be complete by 2019, at which point this hybrid and electric drivetrain technology will begin trickling into its range of hand-built vehicles.

According to Morgan, by the end of the decade all of its production vehicle range will have the option of hybrid power. The company has made no commitment, at least publicly, as to when it might offer vehicles with a full-electric drivetrain.

By adopting hybrid drivetrains, Morgan hopes to improve its cars' fuel economy, performance and refinement. This in turn, it's hoped, will drive growth at the company, both in terms of sales and employment.

At present, Morgan's four-wheel vehicle range uses a variety of petrol engines sourced from major automakers. These include 82kW 1.6-litre, 115kW 2.0-litre and 209kW 3.7-litre V6 motors from Ford, and a 270kW 4.8-litre V8 from BMW.