Ford is poised to take on the Nissan Leaf EV and to a lesser extent, the more technologically advanced Chevrolet Volt extended range EV with the all-new Focus Electric that was revealed today in production guise.
The Dearborn company's first-ever all-electric passenger car is based on the latest generation of the Focus five-door hatchback. Hiding behind the very Aston Martin-like grille is an electric drivetrain comprising of an electric motor capable of 123 HP and 181 lb-ft of torque, and a single-speed transmission.
Energy is provided by a lithium-ion battery system, which has engineered by Ford in cooperation with supplier LG Chem. Ford says that with the optional wall-mounted 240-volt charge station, the batteries can be charged in three to four hours, or about half the time of the Nissan Leaf. The company did not say how long it will take to charge the batteries with the standard 120-volt convenience cord that comes with the vehicle.
The all-electric Focus is capable of reaching speeds of up 84 mph (136km/h). Ford did not give out an official number on the range, but the firm's execs have previously stated that the EV will be able to cover a distance of around 100 miles or 160km.
The Focus Electric will also get several new features and technologies including a unique version of the MyFord Touch driver connect system developed especially for electric vehicles, a new value charging feature powered by Microsoft and a smartphone app called MyFord Mobile that helps plug-in owners control their vehicles remotely.
The North American variant of the Focus Electric will be built at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, with sales to commence at the end of 2011. Ford said that for European markets, a decision on where the Focus Electric will be built is currently being finalized, but sales are scheduled to start before 2013.
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18 Comments:
Wow they actually made it look better, no more stupid triangles on its face !
Praise be, I'm proved right an EV that doesn't have to look as ugly as the Nissan Leaf. I commented that the Leaf was unnecessarily ugly for what was essentially a Focus/Golf class car and... Not to say I'm not still dubious about the 'appearance' of the new Focus it's been all down hill since the Mk1 as far as I'm concerned.
Wow it looks great! has a Aston Martin front end Nice!!!
They missed the boat on some LED foglights. I really like lights at the bottom of a car, they make it look sexy at night. LEDs would not have required much power, just like 5 tiny bulbs to make a line or something at the bottom corners.
Oh well.
will Ford run into design trademark legal with Ashton Martin? anyway, it's great that people can buy Ashton Martin lookalike at the fraction of price!!
I see they decided to make it a 5-door, just like the Volt.
I does like the cleaned up front end.
This is best looking of the models available in its class today (when it does become available). I would purchase this over a Volt.
@Fredrick, just like the Volt decided to copy the Prius.
yeah the front does look a little Aston Martin-ish eh!
and a little Citroen-ish from the rear.. though im not complaining as the car does look quite good! and so does the interior. The Nissan Leaf is downright ugly.. both inside and out. The Leafs styling is disappointing and would scare me away. I much prefer the "conventional" styling of the Focus over the futuristic/novelty look of the Leaf. What does eat away at me about these EV's is the still very limited range. I would have thought that Ford would have made this car with a superior range over the Leaf.. even if it was only by 10 to 30 miles.. and with a listed range of only up to 100 miles, Ford needs to be selling this car NOW and not in 12 to 18 months time as im sure other brands EV's will be hitting the market by then with more than a 100 mile range ability and making the EV Focus a less desirable option.
So if I had to choose between the Focus and Leaf it would be the Focus. But im happy to wait for an EV to hit the market with a 150-200 mile range which would give me a whole weeks worth of commuting to and from work on a single charge. Im not hot on the idea of nightly charging and currently 100 miles just doesn't cut it.
Still, range is a problem. 160km is not much. Only when EVs can do 400-500km and charge in something between 2 to 4 hours will Electric vehicles become the norm imo. We are still some way off I this I think. Designwise though, the front is a major improvement. Very elegant.
The beige interior is nasty though (hope that's US only) and the steering wheel is VERY button-heavy... Otherwise, agree with the comments above; nice looking, practical EV.
Looks dull... I prefer the old face.
Is that Sean Connery saying "Ashton Martin" :-)
Carscoop definitely got the scoop on this car. Great work!
"@Fredrick, just like the Volt decided to copy the Prius."
Just like how the Prius decided to copy the Chevy Citation and before that the Citroen CX.
You can't win by playing the 'X copied Y" game.
nice styling, Aston grill I agree, which is a problem in itself, copying a trademark look from another manufacturer .. could do with being a bit taller...
People are going to forget to charge these things. It's just a fact of life with peoples busy schedules.
"Ford did not give out an official number on the range, but the firm's execs have previously stated that the EV will be able to cover a distance of around 100 miles or 160km."
Are you sure it will be able to do that?I don't think all the EV technology in the world can power those gigantic,grotesque monstrosities the Ford designers want us to believe are tail lights..
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