DEARBORN ? With Ford Chairman William Ford Jr. doing commercials touting the greening of Ford, the No. 2 automakers chief of the hybrid-electric vehicle operations and sustainable mobility technologies has resigned, part of an increasing exodus claiming top Ford executives.

Ford recently announced plans to expand hybrid production to 250,000 vehicles annually by 2010. A company spokesman insisted Wright?s departure will not affect that target. With last year?s launch of the Escape Hybrid, and the more recent introduction of the gas-electric version of the Mercury Mariner, Wright had become one of the more visible faces at Ford, which is struggling to catch up with hybrid segment leaders, Toyota and Honda, TheCarConnection.Com reported.

Exactly why Wright is leaving is unclear. The automaker would only suggest the oft-cited ?personal reasons.? But the 17-year veteran of Ford?s engineering staff was a prot�g� of Phil Martens, who was running North American product development until his sudden resignation earlier in October. Matt DeMars, Ford vice president for North American vehicle operations, left at the same time as Martens.

Insiders tell TheCarConnection.com of growing turmoil in Ford?s white-collar ranks. ?There are a lot of resumes being sent out,? said one. That?s fueled, in part, by concerns about the automaker?s financial health. But many managers also wonder what will happen now that Mark Fields has assumed control of Ford?s critical Americas operations.

Until recently the head of the automaker?s high-line Premier Automotive Group, Fields intends to move quickly to reverse the automaker?s losses. Sources believe Fields sees the internal politics of Ford as one of his biggest challenges, leading to product delays, cost run-ups, and the creation of destructive corporate fiefdoms. That was one reason why Martens was apparently encouraged to find other work. As for Wright, she had many strong supporters, but others contend she was too divisive a force for the new Ford structure Fields is creating.

To take her place, the automaker has appointed Nancy Gioia, who has been with Ford since 1982. She is a University of Michigan engineering graduate, and went on to earn a master?s at Stanford University in manufacturing systems engineering. In her new role, Gioia will oversee a variety of potential alternatives to today?s gas and diesel engines. Ford has been actively involved in hydrogen research, both with fuel cell vehicles and with hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engines.

Such systems are likely a decade or more away from mass production, but hybrids are rapidly emerging as a near-term solution, especially in the wake of recent gasoline price spikes. Though Ford?s Escape could lay claim as the world?s first gasoline-electric SUV, the automaker is struggling to catch up to its Asian rivals, especially Toyota, which dominate the hybrid sales charts, and hopes to have the technology account for a quarter of its U.S. sales by decade?s end.