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Ford Begins EV Production in Europe
Ford Motor Co. has begun making the electric version of its Focus small car in Saarlouis, Germany.
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Ford Motor Co. has begun making the electric version of its Focus small car in Saarlouis, Germany. The model will go on sale in Europe in August.
The front-wheel-drive EV, Ford's first in Europe, is an iteration of the $39,200 model Ford has been making in the U.S. since the end of 2011. That car is powered by a 23-kWh lithium-ion battery and an electric motor rated at 143 hp.
Ford is assembling the Focus Electric in Germany on the same line that makes the conventionally powered Focus. The company has not announced a sales target for Europe, but it has consistently described the model as a low-volume niche car.
Ford sold fewer than 700 Focus EVs in the U.S. in 2012, most of them in California, and is offering big discounts to bolster demand this year.
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