Hybrids make better self-driving cars than the electric cars some automakers are using, a top Ford executive said Monday.

Hybrid cars will be able to stay on the road for longer periods of time than electrics — Ford plans to have its cars on the road for 20 hours a day, said Jim Farley, Ford's executive vice president and president of global markets, told Automotive News.

Farley gave his comments days after publishing a post on Medium elaborating on Ford's plans for developing autonomous vehicles.

Using hybrids is a different strategy from the path some other companies are taking. Ford's U.S. rival General Motors has been using all-electric Chevrolet Bolt cars for its own autonomous testing.

And of course Tesla has been outfitting its own electric cars with all the hardware the company says is necessary for full autonomy since 2016.

Ford has been stepping up its efforts on new mobility businesses such as ride-sharing and autonomous driving technology. The company is battling a perception among investors that Ford is falling behind peers.

Ford's shares have risen just more than 3 percent so far in 2017, compared with nearly 20 percent for GM and more than 50 percent for Tesla.