Ford unveils electric Focus

The spark that is igniting a new generation of electric cars has spread to Ford and fired a battery-powered Focus that will be ready for showrooms later this year.

There is no confirmation - yet - of a sales plan in Australia, but the Ford Focus Electric is the blue oval brand's new-age hero as it races to recover ground from the early plug-in pacemakers from Mitsubishi and Nissan - the iMiEV and Leaf - and to shortcut hybrid heroes including the Toyota Prius and Chevrolet Volt.

The Focus Electric is revealed today, not at the Detroit auto show but at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Los Vegas. It's an event Ford has used often in recent years and that hosts the roll-out this year of Ford's electric-vehicle App for smart phones.

"We're more than a car company, we're a technology company," says Alan Mulally, Ford's CEO, speaking in Las Vegas.

“There's a convergence between consumer electronics and the car.

There's a whole ecosystem that goes with the electric vehicle. It's more than just the car. It's part of a system-wide solution.”

But the Focus is the focus and, despite a grille that looks like it was snitched from the front of an Aston Martin, the electric model is packed with new technology.

The company boasts a top speed of 140km/h and that it can be fully recharged in just four hours, around half the time of other electric vehicles.

Power comes from a 23-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, an electric motor and a single-speed transmission.

There is a clear eco focus in the car that includes biofoam seat cushions, trim parts made from recycled plastic, while Ford plans to sell 240-volt chargers for the car for just $1499.

The Focus Electric is claimed to drive the same as a regular petrol- powered model and it will be built in the USA, unlike the Focus from Thailand that will be sold in the USA.

Ford will use the Detroit motor show to fill in the technical detail of the plug-in Focus, as well as confirming five other EV and updated hybrid models it will have for sale in 2012. They include a pair of hybrids with updated lithium-ion battery packs.