The Ford Story: Ford Battery Electric Vehicles Move Closer to Consumer Use

As many as 20 households in the London Borough of Hillingon will be among the first to experience Ford’s latest zero emissions technology. They’ll get to drive a Ford Focus battery electric vehicle (BEV) for three months, taking part in research testing the technology’s suitability for potential future application in Ford’s passenger-car lineup.

These Ford Focus vehicles have been specially developed for the UK government’s Ultra-Low Carbon Vehicles demonstration next year.

Hillingdon Council will ask residents to apply to participate, accessing a charging infrastructure to be installed in and around the borough from early 2010. Properties will be provided with domestic charging points.

The five vehicles will come from a fleet of Ford Focus BEV prototypes being produced for a consortium that includes Ford, Scottish and Southern Energy and Strathclyde University, as well as the London borough.

This new BEV demonstration fleet is being developed partly with public funding from the UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB), which promotes innovative industry-led projects that reduce CO₂ while benefiting the country’s transport system.

The Ford Focus BEV

The Ford Focus BEV prototype is based on the current European Ford Focus and will use a new all-electric powertrain from supplier Magna.

The Ford Focus prototypes feature a state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery pack with the capacity of 23kWh and a chassis-mounted 100kW permanent-magnet electric traction motor. It will have a range of up to 75 miles and a top speed of up to 85 mph. Charging the batteries will take between six and eight hours, using a household 230-volt electricity supply.

To learn more aobut the Ford BEV, please see the fact sheet below.

Ford Battery Electric Vehicle

In the U.S., you can watch a different version of the Ford Focus BEV on “The Jay Leno Show.” The electric car appears in segments called “Green Car Challenge” during the first season of the show. Click here for more details on the show and on the car used for the show.

We make it easy for you to share this story with your friends; simply click on the “share this” method of your choice at the top right corner of this page. You can also click here to sign up for updates from Ford Motor Company, and click here to add an RSS feed to your regular homepage.

14 Comments

B Casey
October 20, 2009 at 3:22 am

Great idea, I do believe it's a must (if you want to sell more that 20,000) that the car have a small charging system built in. Maybe a 2hp Briggs and Straton to charge the car while the folks are in that West Texas diner chowing down on chicken fried steak, eggs and black coffee. Reply

Jon
October 21, 2009 at 4:29 pm

Innovative battery technologies are very important and will ultimately pave the way for electric cars and alternative energy to become more mainstream. Keep on truckin' - Keep on Innovating Ford. Kudos.

Stella Melendez
October 21, 2009 at 10:52 pm

I am not getting a new car until these are available in America. I have been waiting for a non gasoline auto. to hit the streets. My present car is 10 years old. I hope it lasts just a little longer Reply

Bruce Reed
October 25, 2009 at 2:29 am

As usual, these tests are performed in densely populated areas where there is always an electric outlet around. Also, most tests are done in relatively flat places. Tests in hilly areas or rural areas would be a better measure of the car's abilities or failure points. Reply

Tim
October 26, 2009 at 5:53 pm

Please sell one of these electric cars already! I'm sick of contributing to the billions the oil companies are making. Reply

Victor E Davis
October 26, 2009 at 6:57 pm

I eagerly await your new fully electric vehicle. I love that your company has had the courage to break free from fossil fuel completely. GOOD JOB FORD, you always manage to stay number one. Reply

Chuck Lindberg
October 26, 2009 at 11:01 pm

Thank you. I would like to watch Ford buile the elect. car of the future. Reply

Andrew
October 27, 2009 at 9:01 pm

I respect Ford now more then ever for designing new ways of powering automobiles. Because of them I'm thinking of automotive engineering as a possible career. Hopefully one day ill work for them!! Reply

Frank B
October 28, 2009 at 3:26 am

Kudos to the people at Ford for moving forward with an all electric car. I am hopeful that one day an all electric (Lithum-ion) powerd car will become available in the United States. I drove 62mi today in my Ford Escort ZX2 (34mpg) and cost over $5.00 (US) in gas. I know to fully recharge Focus BEV would have been a fraction of the cost in gas . The money saved in gas, could almost make a Ford Focus BEV monthly car payment for me. I know it is only a matter time before we see $5.00 per gal of fuel again. Making the Ford Focus BEV an imparitive logical choice for an electric alternative all the more apparent. I have one concern though. GM introduced the EV1 back in 1995 and in 1998 it had a range of 120 miles with the battery upgrade. I know battery technology has come along ways since then. I don't understand why the focus is not getting better then 75 mile range? Granted your not going to be able to use this car to drive across country to visit Grandma for Christmas, but that is why we have Fusion Hybrid for (700 miles per tank). This is a second car a person would use for getting to and from work, picking up the kids, getting the grocieries, and plugging it in for the night while you sleep. I get all this done in 62miles per day (including kids football practice). I think for a better sense of security if you could stretch the range to 120 miles that would be great, but If you can't I'll take the 75 miles anyday. Atleast I would be saving over $150.00 per month on gas. I just hope this BEV program does not fall off to the way side like the Ford "Think" program(1998-2001). I really hated having to return my electric Ford Ranger pickup. Finally, I hope that you guys move away from Fuel Cell technology and stick with electric powered vehicles. The cost for any country to implement a fuel cell filling station infastructure makes this technolody impossible. It could happen, but were talking like 2050 before we could drive down the block to fill up with hydrogen. The electric battery powered car turns all Fusion BEV owners homes into fuel stations. The wonderful thing about it is the infastructure has already been built for us and it is called "The electrical outlet" In conclusion, I will be looking for the Focus BEV to become available and will be eagerly standing in line to sign on the dotted line. Thanks once again Ford for having the courage to allow consumers the choice of getting off of fosil fuels, helping with the envoirment, and not having to buy gas :) Reply

Michael
October 29, 2009 at 5:20 pm

Why can't you speed this up. It should have been done a long time ago....ha ha but I have to hand it to you for doing it now. Now if only you could make them affordable instead of 30k+ under 20K wow would that be great. Dream on. Keep going Ford. Reply

Butch Pash
October 31, 2009 at 1:10 am

I'm a Ford stockholder waiting for an affordable full electric car with a little over 100 mi. of highway legal range. Please keep it energy efficient. While waiting, my reservation is in for an Aptera (if it ends up being priced right). Reply

matt coley
November 5, 2009 at 12:48 pm

When will there be an electric Mustang? There are electric motors made which can provide upwards of 800 horsepower. Electric vehicles should be priced lower than gas fueled vehicles as it's much cheaper to build a vehicle from scratch with an electric motor and batteries. The thing that has hurt car sales the most is that the price of new cars have not come down. If you want to sell cars, the average car must be under $20,000. Car makers must be able to build entry level 4x4 SUVs in such a way that they can be sold at or just below the $20,000 mark. With the economy the way it is, I make enough to make payments on a $25,000 to $35,000 car, but in doing so, if I were to lose my job, I would have to have a way to pay the balance of the car. This means that my savings and retirement savings must be able to cover the balance of my car if I lose my job. The majority of people will not have enough in savings or retirement to pay off a $25,000 to $35,000 car. People may purchase used vehicles in order to meet their price point, but in order to have peace of mind, they need to purchase an extended warranty with the used vehicle they purchase, which brings the full purchase price close to the new vehicle price. If car companies are to survive, they must provide a 10 year or 10,000 mile power train warranty with a 3 year or 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warrant, both of which MUST be transferrable if the owner trades the car in or sells the vehicle. If these warranties were in place and were transferrable for several used vehicles that I've looked at, I would have bought a car by now. Reply

Gerald Gage
November 15, 2009 at 1:19 pm

I have a question, is it possible with a small portable generator in a tow behind trailer that the electric car, that the battery could be recharged while in motion? Reply

Ronnie Demeter
November 18, 2009 at 6:53 pm

Ford will demo until Hell freezes over but crush-em in the end run it's just a good PR pitch.
That's what they did with the pickups in the states. Not enough goes wrong with them to support the service deptments.After Japan and other compubeters have them for breakfast. We'll hear the old should of could of excuses.
Tel Salla in Ca, is making a car that goes 100 miles on a charge.It's for sale.If enough of them sell the price might come down.I don't know. Check it out. Reply

14 Comments

Add Your Comment