Ford Focus Electric Priced From $39,995, Pre-Order Now

2011 has seen Nissan and GM battling for electric car domination, but a new contender is about to enter the ring; the Ford Focus Electric. Pre-ordering opened up yesterday, and Ford has finally put a price on its first EV entry; $39,995, the same cost as the 2012 Chevy Volt. With a limited roll out, and a high price, will the Focus Electric still sell well?Price = Range?Well it depends because Ford, while taking orders on the Focus Electric, has still yet to release an estimated all-electric range. The Blue Oval does say that the Focus Electric will offer a competitive MPGe to other electric vehicles out there right now, so expect anywhere from 70 to 90 miles of “real world” range. The Focus Electric will also offer a number of other high-tech features, like custom routes and screens, an smartphone app, regenerative breaking, and other nifty features.

After the Federal tax credit, the Focus Electric’s price will drop to a more-reasonable $32,495, the same price as the more-versatile Chevy Volt. The $35,000 Nissan Leaf will still undercut both domestic competitors as well. But I think Ford has a real problem on its hands, and it isn’t just the very limited and delayed initial rollout. It’s the name itself.

It’s All In The Name

Unlike both Nissan and GM, Ford has opted to keep the Focus name in the Focus Electric. That could be a problem, as you have people who will be shelling out $40,000+…for what is essentially an electrified economy car. Yes, I know that both the Leaf (Versa) and Volt (Cruze) are also based on cheap compact cars…the difference being in the name. It’s not a Cruze; it’s a Volt. It’s not a Versa, it’s a Leaf. But a Focus Electric is still a Focus, and I wonder if that won’t hurt it in the long run. Still, Ford is already taking pre-orders if you just must have Ford’s first electric car (sold outside of California.)

It is really going depend on the real-world mileage and fit-and-finish of the final product. I have a lot of faith in Ford (my blood runs Ford blue) but I can’t help but feel that a $40,000 Focus is going to have a hard time finding buyers. What say you?

Source: Ford

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Tags: Chevy Volt, Focus Electric, Focus Electric rollout, Focus EV, Focus price, Ford Focus, ford focus electric, Ford Focus price, Nissan LEAF, pricing of Focus Electric

About the Author

Christopher DeMorro A writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs, Chris can be found wrenching or writing- or esle, he's running, because he's one of those crazy people who gets enjoyment from running insane distances.

Bobolink

So, for the same $ as a Volt (that has no range limit), I can buy a Ford that drops dead after 60 miles?

I wonder what all the GM/Volt haters will make of this? It will be interesting to see how they will bend their logic into a pretzel to praise the Ford Focus EV while bashing the “govmint motors” Volt as somehow a flop and failure. By the way, Volt sales increased 50% in October and sold more than the Corvette. Small production numbers still, but increasing every day.

I also take note that Consumer Reports has downgraded Ford quality below GM’s and they now Recommend the Volt. This from an organization that was initially very anti-Volt.
- http://twitter.com/#!/RexScientiarum RexScientiarum
  
  Actually, oddly enough living in Michigan, the university I attend, the local nature center that I volunteer at, the movie cinema, and several other places in town that I frequently shop at already have electric charging stations so I doubt I would ever have to worry about range. But still, I am probably a minority of the market and just because a vehicle could work with a certain persons driving habits doesn’t mean they want to buy one (most are still in love with gasoline). The first, maybe second thing I am doing when I graduate is going to be buying an electric car or plug in hybrid.
DaveS

Who in their right-mind would consider buying ANY of these cars at 40K?
I usually trade in every 3-4 years, so even with buying fuel for my Genesis Coupe,
I’m still way ahead as far as my pocketbook is concerned!
Until it’s down around 25K, it’s not even worth considering.
- Nixon
  
  What if you could get one of these $40K EV’s for 26.5K? Would that be close enough to 25K for you?
  
  In states with good incentives (like Colorado) that is reality right now. Which of course is the point of these incentives — to make it close enough to what buyers think is affordable that they are willing to take the jump.
  
  But the Ford EV doesn’t sound like it would be the best value to me compared to others.
  - Richard W
    
    Yes, the governments should borrow money to subsidize this stuff, eventually our grand children can pay the bill. That is reality.
    - http://importantmedia.org/members/joborras/ Jo Borras
      
      Better idea: the gov’t can take the $600 billion they give to gas and oil companies and give that to companies developing green tech, so our grandchildren will still have some air to breathe.
- ID
  
  “Who in their right-mind would consider buying ANY of these cars at 40K?”
  Left minded greens and bleeding edge enthusiasts. So, no, no one in their right mind.
  - http://importantmedia.org/members/joborras/ Jo Borras
    
    How about people who drive less than 20-30 miles each day? People who live in tight urban areas where gas stations are few and far between? People who appreciate off-the line acceleration, instant torque, and motors with no contacting moving parts that will still be pulling strong 20 years from now (think of high-end vacuum cleaners, blenders, and other electric appliances that require little or no maintenance to provide reliable daily service for decades)? People who don’t need loud-revs to assert their masculinity? People who realize that electric car tech is over 100 years old, and has experienced just as much (if not more) technical refinement over the last century as gas engines? People who love their country, and don’t like seeing American become the mideast’s b**** while Fox news tells us all that Saudi Arabia loves us very much and will call tomorrow, for sure?
    
    Yeah – no one “in their right mind”, for sure. You hit the nail right on the head, clown.
J

My commute is 60 miles one way.

None of these ‘electric’ cars can cut it.

Doubly so at $40K.

J
- http://importantmedia.org/members/joborras/ Jo Borras
  
  I believe the statistic is “78% of Americans drive less than 40 miles/day”, so that would mean 22% (something around 60 million Americans, based on the latest census) drive MORE than 40 miles/day. Congrats, then – you (like me!) are 1 of 60 million. My answer? Trains + 2 wheels. I hope YOUR answer isn’t a 6000 lb SUV.
Constitution First

How many times do I have to say: “Disruptive Technology”? The auto industry is never going to change habits by offering a more expensive option! Duh! It’s the other-way-round, dummies. Do they really want to get folks to adopt EV’s? Priced like this, it sure doesn’t look that way. If they really wanted folks to adopt EV’s they’ll have to make them so cheap and bare bones the public will flock to them in such numbers car companies will struggle just to meet demand. This isn’t speculation, history has proven this phenomena over and over again. I’d love an EV, but at that price, never.
Kevin M

People think nothing of paying $80K for a Mercedes, and part of their reason is the cachet of the brand. Certainly not for reliability or resale value. Why does no one say “who the heck would pay $80K for a sedan when a Camry only costs $30K?” Answer: because it would be stupid. As is this.

People will shell out $40K for an electric if having an electric is more important to them than the $10K or so they’d save not buying the electric.
- Mark Leuck
  
  But in the case of a Mercedes you are getting a better quality car then the Camry, in this case you are spending almost twice as much getting the same car powered by a different engine.
  - http://importantmedia.org/members/joborras/ Jo Borras
    
    I really don’t think the Benz is objectively better than the Camry. The last “paragon of quality” Benz was the W124, and we haven’t been offered a rock-solid, million-mile Benz like that since 1995. The current cars are … well, they’re great as long as you have a warranty!
Roux

A gasoline Focus is about $20K so it’s $10K more for the electric. You can buy a lot of gas for $10K plus the vehicle will last longer and have less problems. Oh and electricity isn’t free.

Electric cars are a poor choice for most people.
jimf

Good point…looks like a real car…the current focus. Bad point…for that price it needs to have a greater range than the Leaf.
- http://importantmedia.org/members/joborras/ Jo Borras
  
  There are people on the fence with the Leaf that will buy this because it says “Ford” on it and that makes it seem more “American”.
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