Perhaps signaling a more mainstream marketing focus than previously thought Ford intended to take with its Focus Electric, the automaker is teaming with Yahoo and celebrities to raise awareness among more than just early adapters via videos with a decidedly pop appeal.
Specifically, Yahoo and Ford are releasing today a teaser video previewing “Plugged In,” a weekly online reality competition show coinciding with the launch of the all-new 2012 Focus Electric and airing exclusively on Yahoo! Screen.
Although it seems the Ford Focus Electric has been off to a rather low-key start, Detroit’s number two automaker announced this week that the first 67 dealers have gained certification. As a result, they can now begin selling Ford’s new pure EV.
According to a press release from the company, certification means that each of the dealers in question has met the required guidelines necessary for selling EVs, which includes having dedicated on-site staff trained in electric vehicle servicing and operation, plus the provision for at least two charging stations.
While GM’s Chevrolet Volt was extensively promoted for several years prior to its December 2010 launch, Ford Motor Company appears to be taking a low-key approach with its Focus Electric.
Since its introduction last year, Ford has sold less than 30 examples and although it says it plans to ramp up production at its Wayne, Michigan facility as it rolls the car out into U.S. launch markets in California, New Jersey and New York, some are wondering whether there’s a bit of a reluctance on Ford’s part to commit to the vehicle.
During a speech at Fortune magazine’s Brainstorm Green conference in California earlier this week, Ford CEO Alan Mulally spilled the beans on what it costs for a battery in the company’s Focus Electric, which is between $12,000 and $15,000.
“When you move into an all-electric vehicle, the battery size moves up to around 23 kilowatt hours,” he said. “It weighs 600 to 700 pounds and they’re around $12,000 to $15,000 for a car [in conventional gasoline form] that normally sells around $22,000. So you can see why the economics are what they are.”
Based on the information Ford’s CEO provided, the automaker pays somewhere between $552 and $650 per kilowatt-hour for EVs like the Focus Electric, which is currently priced at $39,200.
In-line with what Ford is doing in the U.S., Ford of Canada is working with Best Buy Canada to offer Canadian Ford Focus Electric owners a convenient and dependable solution for home charging station installation.
Ford and Best Buy will offer a 240-volt home charging station for the company's all-new Ford Focus Electric battery electric vehicle and future plug-in electric vehicles in Canada. Best Buy intends to supply the charging station and offer complete consultation and installation services through Geek Squad and third-party licensed electrical contractors.
On Monday, Men’s Health magazine announced a journey most electric car aficionados would enjoy being part of.
The magazine launched its 2012 Electric Car Challenge, a cross-country adventure designed to help maximize the potential of electric vehicles, create a healthier, more satisfying, and more exciting road trip experience, and raise money for an important cause.
As the magazine stated in a press release, “It’s not a fair challenge, of course – the infrastructure for fast, easy charging doesn’t exist yet. But that’s why we’re doing it. If the infrastructure was there, what fun would that be?”
Ford is making the case for electric driving with an emphasis this week on its Focus Electric having just received approval for single occupancy driving in California’s High Occupancy Vehicle lanes.
The $39,995 vehicle is being introduced in California, New York and New Jersey in the first half of this year, with availability in 19 markets by year’s end.
Aiming to receive maximum acceptance in the top EV state of California, Ford says up to $10,000 in tax credits will be available, and HOV lane access is worth more than an $1,464 in wasted fuel plus time for those who commute in and around Los Angeles.
Ford’s updated Escape line due early next year will lack a hybrid option but yesterday the company said its pending 2012 Focus Electric and 2013 C-Max Hybrid and C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid will offer best-in-class efficiency.
Citing “expected” mileage figures, the Focus Electric is said to achieve 100 MPGe.
Of the C-Max Energi, Ford says it is expected to beat fuel economy delivered by the Prius plug-in hybrid in electric mode and top the Chevrolet Volt in range with 500 miles estimated.
Similarly, the C-MAX Hybrid is supposed to achieve better fuel economy than the Prius V in both city and highway driving.
Yesterday Ford Motor Co. began accepting online orders for its 2012 Focus Electric, which was first unveiled a year ago in Las Vegas.
The company is coming in with a limited and partially delayed launch a year or more after Nissan, which has has already sold over 8,000 of its (now) $35,200 all-electric Leafs in the U.S. alone.
The plug-in Focus will cost a bit more, starting at $39,995, and Ford – which quietly delayed release dates to 17 initial markets till next spring, then denied it – says buyers can "virtually build and price one" at its dedicated Web site.
Ford announced yesterday it would raise its annual U.S. production capacity for “electrified” vehicles – hybrids and plug-in hybrids – from 35,000 to over 100,000 by 2013. While the Focus EV is due later this year, the spotlight was also on four other hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Central among these will be Ford’s five-passenger C-Max Hybrid and C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid which for the first time were announced that they would be offered in North America. A seven-passenger ICE version slated for the U.S. however will not be offered.
Ford announced yesterday that it will build a conventional hybrid and plug-in hybrid version of its C-Max vehicle for European customers. Toyota begins building its first European hybrid this month. Is this the beginning of a hybrid invasion in Europe? We touched base with Nancy Gioia, Ford’s director of global electrification, to learn more.
Ford announced yesterday that it will build a conventional hybrid and plug-in hybrid version of its C-Max vehicle for European customers. Toyota begins building its first European hybrid this month. Is this the beginning of a hybrid invasion in Europe? We touched base with Nancy Gioia, Ford’s director of global electrification, to learn more.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally opened the New York International Auto Show with a keynote outlining the company's roadmap for greener cars and trucks. If the company stays in schedule, the full-scale rollout of its hybrids and other electric-drive cars will be more aggressive, and include more models and technologies, than any other carmaker. The Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, unveiled today, is a modest step along the way.
With oil prices reaching record levels for the year—and potentially heading higher—the prospects for electricity-powered cars is also on the rise. Deutsche Bank said prices could surge to $100 a barrel in the next two quarters if the US dollar continues to weaken. Rising oil prices alone are not enough to ensure the future of electric cars—but there are clear signs of a massive transition to plug-in hybrids and electric cars.
Major car companies are working on ways that plug-in cars will communicate with the electric grid. Ford, Nissan and Volvo have displayed their visions. We spoke with Greg Frenette, Ford manager of battery electric vehicle applications, to learn which driver controls are essential and feasible—and which charging technologies are more fantasy than reality.
Ford Motor Company has developed an intelligent charging system that previews how its production vehicles will interact with the grid. The unnamed system enables all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle owners to restrict charging to when electricity prices fall below a certain threshold, or even "when the grid is using only renewable energy such as wind or solar power," according to Ford.
No longer an amorphous concept, Nissan’s electric car can now be stacked up against other hybrids and plug-in cars for its look and feel, features, and likely cost. The reviews from the blogosphere—usually an irreverant crowd—were mixed.
Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford, pledged yesterday to form an alliance with the Edison Electric Institute to work on plug-in cars. Speaking at EEI’s annual convention in San Francisco on Thursday, Mulallly outlined his company’s path toward high fuel-efficiency, which included—but by no means was limited to—electric vehicle technology.
