The first all-electric passenger car from Ford has finally been unveiled in the form of the Focus Electric.
Expected to launch in late 2011, the Ford Focus Electric is said to offer enough driving range to cover the majority of daily driving habits of Americans – so around 100miles. It will offer a mile-per-gallon equivalent ratio that surpasses the Chevrolet Volt and will be competitive with other battery electric vehicles.
The new Ford Focus Electric.
Powered by an advanced lithium-ion battery, the Focus Electric uses heated and cooled liquid to help maximise battery life and fuel-free driving range. The active liquid system heats or chills the coolant before pumping it through the system helping to regulate the temperature against external conditions.
A full recharge takes place in three-four hours at home with a 240V charging station. The vehicle also includes new features and technologies such as a MyFord Touch driver connect system and a new value charging feature powered by Microsoft. The MyFord Touch driver connect technology offers an innovative presentation of vehicle information including battery state of charge, distance to charge point and the corresponding range budget and expected range margin.
According to Ford, designers were inspired by the butterfly effect in which a small change can have an enormous impact. At the end of each trip, a display screen provides distance driven, miles gained through regenerative braking, energy consumed and comparative petrol savings achieved by driving electric.
The five-door hatchback uses Ford’s C-platform that is shared by the petrol and diesel versions of the model. It will be built at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, for the North American market, with no news yet on its location for the European market.
