Ford starts producing 2012 Focus Electric

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ford has started producing the 2012 Focus Electric, an all-electric car expected to be certified for a fuel efficiency rating of more than the equivalent of 100 mpg, freep.com reports.

The Focus Electric battery pack can be recharged in half the time required to recharge the Nissan Leaf, Ford said Wednesday, December 14.

According to Ford, the Focus Electric battery can be recharged in just more than three hours using a 240-volt charging station, about half the charging time of the 2012 Nissan Leaf.

The Chevrolet Volt, introduced last December, can travel about 35 miles on a single charge before an onboard gas generator kicks in to provide electricity so that the car can travel an additional 375 miles.

The all-electric Nissan Leaf, also introduced last year, can go up to 100 miles on a single charge. The Focus Electric also is expected to get 70 to 100 miles on a full charge depending on customer driving behavior.

Ford has priced its Focus Electric at $39,995, essentially the same price as the Chevrolet Volt, and more than the Leaf, which starts at about $35,200.

Buyers will qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit, which directly reduces the price they pay.

The rollout of Ford's electrified vehicles began in December 2010 with the 2011 Ford Transit Connect Electric - a small commercial van built in collaboration with Azure Dynamics. Two small electric minivans also are planned for 2012: a C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid and a C-Max gas-electric hybrid.

Ford said it expects its C-Max Energi to deliver a 500-mile driving range and better fuel economy in electric mode than the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid, the first of which Toyota expects to deliver in the spring of 2012 in 14 states.

The new C-Max hybrid is targeted to achieve better fuel economy than the Toyota Prius v, which gets an estimated 44 m.p.g. in the city and 40 on the highway.

All three electric vehicles - the Focus Electric, C-Max Energi and C-Max Hybrid - are built on the same platform as the Ford Focus compact car and will be assembled at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne.