Ford goes green with all-electric Focus

Mascarenas went to predict that 20-25% of vehicles on our roads will be electrified by 2025. It’s a bold claim and one he admits depends on getting a recharging infrastructure in place and of course, the availability and pricing of fossil fuels.

The electric Focus will be available in US this year and in the UK in 2012. It’s the same car for both territories, unlike many Ford models, which follows the companies new global strategy. We asked whether Ford thought Americans were becoming more European, or vice-versa, but they didn’t want to comment.

We’re big supporters of more sustainable means to power our cars, and electric cars have lot going for them, but we’re still a little sceptical of this upcoming generation of all-electric models. The higher purchase price is easily offset by far lower running costs. Instead it’s practical details that bother us. In the Focus, for example, a large chunk of the boot is taken up by the 23kwh lithium ion battery – so much in fact that we’re not sure you could fit a pushchair in.

Charging is the key issue, though. With off-street parking not available to many in the UK, it’s hard to know how urbanites (to whom the 100-mile range isn’t an issue) would charge their cars – cables dangling out of flat windows and across pavements certainly isn’t on. The solutions for such problems will likely have to come from government before many of us will be in a position to buy into the electric dream of cheaper, cleaner motoring.