Ford to start producing Focus Electric in Europe
We recently found out that Ford has started to produce the Focus EV – the first full-electric vehicle that will be built by the U.S. carmaker in Europe. The manufacturing of the Focus Electric was integrated straight into the established Focus assembly line at the Ford Saarlouis plant in Germany.
The Focus Electric will replace the traditional gasoline or diesel engine that the regular Focus models use; instead the Focus EV will be using an electric motor and lithium-ion battery powertrain to produce 143 hp, allowing the hatch to get to a top speed of 135 km/h.
The vehicle has a 96 kilometer driving range thanks to a 6.6kW fully integrated onboard charger, using this onboard charger for 2-3 hours from a 32A power supply. According to the company, on a full charged battery – about 3-4 hours, you’ll be expected to get about a 160km driving range.
The powertrain also uses regenerative braking capable of capturing up to 95 percent of all the kinetic energy normally lost during the braking process, while the Brake coach feature will make sure that gradual braking is used to help return more energy to the battery.
According to the product development vice president of Ford of Europe, the new Focus Electric is the start of a new age for full-electric Ford passenger vehicles in Europe, and is meant to represent the success of the One Ford strategy to make this sophisticated vehicle available to European customers.
The Ford Focus Electric comes with a bunch of special features, one of them being a new user interface called SmartGauge that calculates and displays driving range based on the remaining energy; the driver’s braking and acceleration inputs, as well as the use of accessories such as climate control and audio systems.
The first Ford Focus EV models will be available on European markets starting this July.
