Ford Draws Back The Curtain on Electric Focus

With Chevy’s Volt having earned a downright ridiculous number of headlines, and Nissan’s Leaf now slowly churning out the ssales figures, it’s about high time that one of the most momentous automakers got in on the electric vehicle binge: Ford. Hot on the heels of previously unheard of sales success and critical acclaim, the Blue Oval has taken the wraps off of their entry into the electric vehicle market: The Focus Electric.

Debuting, appropriately enough, at the Consumer Electronics Show, the Focus Electric boasts a more aerodynamic hatchback body (that simply glows with Aston Martin-inspired styling) and a 100 kilowatt motor producing 123 horsepower and 181 pound feet of torque. Apparently, the combination is good for a top speed of 135 kilometres per hour and a range of something around 160 kilometres. Ford boasts the car will best both the Leaf and Volt in miles per gallon equivalency.

But there is a slight difference between the Focus Electric and its similarly powered EV friends. As has become apparent, the difficult part of electric vehicle adoption isn’t the car’s viability, but rather the viability of its charging system. The Volt offers a variety of systems for its buyers, ranging in price from economical and slow to expensive and fast, while the Leaf offers a single charging solution designed to be installed by an electrician. The Focus, on the other hand, offers 3-hours charging with the available two-piece 240 volt charging dock that can be both purchased and installed by Best Buy, at least in America. But perhaps even more intriguing is the Focus’ ability to achieve a full charge from said 240 volt system in just three hours; half the time required by the Nissan Leaf.

The car is expected to launch in North America sometime before the close of 2011.