Ford sees future in electric cars

Battery-powered versions of the Ford Transit Connect and the Focus, the best-selling car in Britain, are currently being tested. Ford predicts that by 2020, between 10 and 25 per cent of new car sales will be hybrid, plug-in hybrid or battery-electric vehicles.

Nancy Gioia, Ford’s director of global electrification, predicts that the company may sell fewer than 1,000 of the Transit model and up to 10,000 examples of the Focus, but that as batteries became cheaper the numbers will increase dramatically.

The electric Ford Focus

A fleet of 15 Focus electric cars are to be tested as part of the Ultra-Low Carbon Vehicles initiative – a £25m scheme that will run for 12 months and see 340 electric vehicles being put through their paces.

Car manufacturers hope the scheme will reveal how electric cars would be used in everyday, ‘real world’ conditions.

Some the electric cars on offer	Speed	Range	Charge time	Looks
Mini E	95mph	150 miles	12 hours
Lightning	130mph	180 miles	4.5 hours
Peugeot eExpert	70mph	100miles	tbc
Smart E Drive	60mph	50-70miles	8hours
Ford Focus EV	tbc	80miles	tbc

The ETA is Car Breakdown Company of the Year 2009. It is one of the few companies to provide a specialist breakdown and warranty service for electric vehicles. Call 0800 212 810 for further details.