Ford Focus Electric now available for Pre Order in the US. Starts @ $40k

Soldato
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http://www.ford.com/electric/focuselectric/2012/

Looks like you could get a $7500 tax credit which brings the initial base price down to $32,500. A standard 2012 focus has a base price of $18,300.

No mileage figures yet however they claim it is comparable to others in its class. Has a 23kwh "advanced active" liquid cooled Lithiun-Ion battery and lots of assorted gadgetry to help you drive more efficiently.

A 240v supply will charge the battery in 3-4 hours.

So what say you? The focus is a very popular car in Europe and the UK specifically so how well do you think it will do?

If a 23kw charge does 150 miles it would cost me about £5.50 in electric to do the same mileage as about £60 of petrol. In fuel saving for me it would work out to a shade under £1000 a year. 99% of my driving is less than 50 miles a day and I have a drive which means I could charge at home with no problems.

I'm not getting one, I don't have the kind of money to spend unless I knew the TCO was going to be at least nearly as good as another option.

But I like that more cars are having the option.

I still don't know anything about battery life and swapping schemes or anything so those will also be important as will the used price.

Also found the below on another site about the materials and manufacturing used for the electric Focus also trying to be greener.

“An electric vehicle is already considered a green vehicle, but Ford wanted to go a step further by looking at ways to make the materials inside the Focus Electric more eco-friendly as well. Using recycled or renewable materials in lieu of petroleum-based materials allows Ford to minimize the amount of virgin materials used in the Focus Electric.”

So then, you are probably thinking that they are using recycled content to make plastic parts of the 2012 Ford Focus Electric. You would be right, pop bottles and milk jugs are just some of the materials recycled and used to make components of underbody shields, wheel arch liners and air cleaner assemblies. The process is part of Ford’s strategy to increase the use of resins. Why resin? The answer is simple; it helps reduce the use of oil-based plastics, which cuts down on oil consumption. This isn’t Ford’s only method; they also use soy-based foams (used in more than 20 Ford vehicles) in the seat cushions. The sound deadening is also sustainable and made from a material called Lignotock. The oddly named material is derived from 85 percent wood fibers. The material is lighter in weight and helps provide weight reduction for better….electric economy.

The car isn’t the only place Ford is looking to increase their sustainable practices. They are also introducing “innovative production processes” at their Wayne, Michigan plant. These processes include the three-wet paint process that applies all three coats of finish in sequence prior to oven curing. The result is a high-quality finish and a “significant reduction” in energy usage. Other interesting innovations include the Fumes-to-Fuel system that takes emissions from the plant’s paint shop and converts them into electricity.

Bottom line—sustainability isn’t just measured by the emissions coming out of the tailpipe, it is the big picture including the entire raw material and manufacturing process. Check out the greener 2012 Ford Focus Electric when they hit dealers late this year.
 
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My only thoughts on this are most garage monkeys including and especially at main dealers, can barely cope with servicing modern cars with internal combustion engines.

If anything goes wrong with these electrical powered systems, it could be a nightmare even under warranty and certainly will be highly specialist. I can imagine only a handful of technicians being capable of fixing issues for the first 2-3 years.

Certainly isn’t plain sailing with commercial EVs atm.
 
My only thoughts on this are most garage monkeys including and especially at main dealers, can barely cope with servicing modern cars with internal combustion engines.

If anything goes wrong with these electrical powered systems, it could be a nightmare even under warranty and certainly will be highly specialist. I can imagine only a handful of technicians being capable of fixing issues for the first 2-3 years.

Certainly isn’t plain sailing with commercial EVs atm.


personally i dont see the problem

al other components suspension trim, steering, other electricals are going to be the same or similar to the current focus only major difference will be the powerplant, most likely option will be any faulty powerplants/batteries will be swapped out and repaired at a central location before being put into a central stock where a dealer can have a replacement in his workshop within 24 hours
 
personally i dont see the problem

al other components suspension trim, steering, other electricals are going to be the same or similar to the current focus only major difference will be the powerplant, most likely option will be any faulty powerplants/batteries will be swapped out and repaired at a central location before being put into a central stock where a dealer can have a replacement in his workshop within 24 hours

The whole EV system is quite substantial though and costly to replace. What we don't understand is how reliable they will be.

The whole lifecycle cost and hassle of running an EV car for the next 5-10 years needs to be considered. Not just for the first but future owners and this includes ease of servicing.

As it is a big unknown, this could be a massive barrier to consumers buying the vehicles along with purchase costs as depreciation is a killer. I suspect the manufacturers will heavily discount and subsidise for the life of the PCP leases just to get the market rolling which will cover any EV items under warranty that could be considered consumables. But beyond that, the SH market where the buyer will need maintain these will be dead in the water.

Ultimately, irrespective of potential fuel savings the purchase cost vs benefit cannot not make financial sense to individuals. The range isn’t sufficient to cover you if you do high mileage on a daily basis where the big fuel cost savings would kick in.

I can’t imagine any fleets taking these either until purchase and depreciation matches the petrol counterparts.
 
That's pretty awesome.

They say it's comparable to other cars in it's class. What's that then, a 150m range? From a 3 hour charge? Is that right?
 
Wait....what? Who invited peugeot to the table?

What a fish mouth.

Actually, did they steal that from an aston? Either way it doesn't belong there :(
 
Wait....what? Who invited peugeot to the table?

What a fish mouth.

Actually, did they steal that from an aston? Either way it doesn't belong there :(

I'm hoping thats just the american styling and it'll look a little different in the UK. but I think a lot of cars want that Aston grille look if they can get it. None get it right though.
 
That's pretty awesome.

They say it's comparable to other cars in it's class. What's that then, a 150m range? From a 3 hour charge? Is that right?

Somewhere around that yes. For most people in this country, and certainly for second cars, 150miles on a 3 hour charge is more than enough.

Between me and the wife we would only want more range maybe once every year or maybe two years and we have 2 cars who both don't do more than 50 miles a day 99% of the time.
 
Never mind the fact you will have spent £30K, and this will be about £30K over here even after rebates, on a focus which a £12k 6 month old petrol one would do the same job with substantially fewer maintenance liabilities; and the EV system right through from the gear train, motor, regenerative brakes and batteries is a substantial liability.

Now I am all for progress and development but I think the gap between EV and petrol is just too great to make economic sense. Expensive new (stupidly so) and probably dirt cheap SH but with stupidly expensive upkeep like replacement batteries (even if you lease batteries it starts adding to the costs). This isn’t going to change until the cost of buying and running a conventional car overtakes and EV car and to bring production and maintenance costs down in an EV they will need to shift 100,000’s which just isn’t going to happen quickly enough to gain the market penetration they need.

The models are also going to become outdated as the technology advances quite quickly and if they don’t shift many of each revision, it is going to make parts extremely expensive.

I know people will buy the new 18K car to save money on road tax or a diesel when they do 4k per year but that is a far cry from what an EV will cost.

With the global economy as it is and car manufacturers in a bad way, now is just the wrong time to get these to market and for them to be successful.
 
Until they can sort out the recharge time from 4 hours to around 15 minutes, I can see these electric cars become town cars, people will have 2 cars. electric for run arounds in town and short journeys and a petrol one for longer journeys.

Design an electric car like a Smart car and sell that for £5,000. I'll buy one.

$15,000 more expensive than a petrol version, even at $2,000 savings a year in petrol will take 7 years before you make your money back. On average, how many people actually keep their car for 7 years?! and can the battery last that long?
 
Until they can sort out the recharge time from 4 hours to around 15 minutes, I can see these electric cars become town cars, people will have 2 cars. electric for run arounds in town and short journeys and a petrol one for longer journeys.

Design an electric car like a Smart car and sell that for £5,000. I'll buy one.

$15,000 more expensive than a petrol version, even at $2,000 savings a year in petrol will take 7 years before you make your money back. On average, how many people actually keep their car for 7 years?! and can the battery last that long?


2K saving on fuel is what 15,000-20,000 miles per annum depending on car and fuel type but a small diesel city car could achieve this or 1.6d on a motorway commute. If you are just pootling round town you are more likely to be doing 5k miles per annum so no chance of realising the savings. Not sure on the battery tech in the focus but if you are doing 15k – 20k miles per year then you may be looking at 2-3 years life. The whole package just doesn’t add up.

Plus it could be anywhere from 2K-7k for battery replacement, never mind the rest of the EV drivetrain and charging / ECU systems which will have some consumables in it.

The only way I can see this working is if Ford can churn these out at £399-£499 per month for 3 years with a minimal deposit and all servicing included with no mileage limitations then effectively do the same thing controlling the SH market so the cars may have a 5-7 year full life cycle with Ford taking all the earnings and scrapping them at the end. I can’t see any non-Ford dealers wanting to sell these or trade these SH anyway.
 
2K saving on fuel is what 15,000-20,000 miles per annum depending on car and fuel type but a small diesel city car could achieve this or 1.6d on a motorway commute.

Assuming fuel doesn't continue to rise... which it will.

I think it is great that these cars are going mainstream. IMHO You would be daft to buy one right now but those that do purchase them will be driving the technology more towards the masses which we need to happen.

I used to think that households would have an electric as a second city car but since my own situation has changed as has my view on this. I now do 50 miles a day (soon to be 60), well within the range of an electric car. Our other car only does 12 miles a day. Ideal situation for us is a petrol/diesel for the 12 miles a day and any one off long trips and the bulk of the commuting miles being racked up on the electric.

I almost fancy a hybrid myself now simply because I love the idea that when I get into the inevitable stop and crawl on my trip to work I can creep along on the batteries without the engine having to cut back in until I get back up to speed.
 
A hybrid is very different from the full EVs though. Something like a Prius makes plenty of sense for example.

To be honest I see it as a transitional step, the plug in versions more than the originals.

Plug in hybrid is the ideal one size fits all solution for everyone who is simply looking for transportation. All we need now is for prices to come down but that will happen over time.
 
I can understand that retraining mechanics might be an issue. But in the long term what makes an electric car harder to maintain then a petrol one.

The basic engine has fewer moving parts, the transmission is much simpler since only a single gear is needed, you don't even need reverse because the engine can run either way. You don't need a clutch because you can't stall an electric motor. The fuelling system is also simple since the fuel doesn't need to be mixed with air before it's delivered to the motor. Surely it's a simpler piece of technology.

As for the future of electric cars, it really depends on what happens in the world of batteries. At the moment they make the cars too expensive and don't given enough range. Maybe someone will have a eureka moment and we'll suddenly have a battery that costs 4p and will give a range of 1000 miles. Maybe the egg heads will just plug away and every year the current technology will get better and cheaper.
 
Excellent we need electric cars asap. I don't think breathing in all those fumes is doing anyone any good. I can't wait for electric cars to be mainstream. They would be much cheaper to run too.
 
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