FRANKFURT, Germany — Ford is ramping up its European clean-tech initiative, with two new versions of its best-selling Focus compact on display at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show — the zero-emissions Ford Focus BEV and the high-mileage Ford Focus ECOnetic.
The Focus BEV is a pure battery-electric vehicle that will be part of a European demonstration program in 2010, including a U.K.-government-sponsored Ultralow-Carbon Vehicles project.
Ford said the project will enable it to test the suitability of the technology in the Focus BEV for potential future application in the company's European passenger-car range.
The Focus BEV uses an all-electric powertrain, including a 100-kilowatt electric motor supplied by Magna, the Canadian auto-parts giant that recently won the bid to control General Motors' Opel subsidiary in Europe. Ford said some of the technology is adapted from such current U.S. models as the 2010 Fusion Hybrid, and some is tied to the next-generation Focus that will be launched in North America in 2011.
The vehicle's 23-kWh lithium-ion battery pack takes 6-8 hours to recharge on European household current. With 236 pound-feet of torque on tap from the electric motor, the Focus BEV has a range of up to 75 miles and a top speed of 85 mph.
Closer to production is the 2010 Focus ECOnetic, which goes on sale early next year in Europe.
Ford said the Focus ECOnetic five-door hatchback will be equipped with an optional auto start/stop system and regenerative brakes, and is expected to achieve 99 g/km in CO2 emissions and 62 mpg.
The 2010 Focus ECOnetic is powered by a 107-horsepower 1.6-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel engine and is equipped with a diesel particulate filter. Without the optional stop-start system, the car will achieve CO2 emissions of 104 g/km.
The Focus ECOnetic joins a growing family of clean Ford vehicles in Europe, including ECOnetic versions of the Fiesta, Mondeo and Transit.
Inside Line says: The global economic crunch doesn't seem to have slowed Ford's green-tech efforts. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
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