Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs)

Technology Overview and Benefits

Battery electric vehicles do not have an internal combustion engine and do not use any on-board gasoline. Instead, they use a high-voltage electric motor, which gets its power from a high-voltage battery pack charged by plugging into a standard 110-volt or 220-volt outlet in the U.S., or a 230-volt outlet in Europe. The primary benefit of BEVs is that they completely eliminate carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other emissions directly from the vehicle. However, they are not necessarily zero-emission over their total lifecycle, depending on the source of electricity used to charge their batteries. Because electricity is often cheaper than gasoline, BEVs may be less costly to operate than gasoline vehicles.

Ford’s electric vehicles use lithium-ion batteries, which provide better performance, require less space and weigh less than the nickel-metal-hydride batteries used in previous-generation hybrid electric vehicles. The Focus Electric’s advanced lithium-ion battery system was engineered by Ford in cooperation with the supplier LG Chem. It uses an advanced, active-liquid cooling and heating system to precondition and regulate the temperature, which helps to maximize battery life and fuel-free driving range.

A full recharge of the Focus Electric takes just four hours at home with the 240-volt charge station. The Focus Electric also features a Regenerative Braking System, which can help maximize vehicle driving range by capturing braking energy and using it to recharge the battery. And, the vehicle uses a wide range of advanced information-technology features, including an enhanced version of MyFord Touch® – our new driver interface technology – and tools for remote vehicle communications and charging. For more information on these technologies, please see Living the Electric Lifestyle.

Deployment

We are implementing an expanded, comprehensive electric vehicle strategy aligned with growing public interest in advanced technologies that reduce the use of gasoline and diesel. To read more about our overall approach, please see Electrification: A Closer Look.

The Focus Electric, our all-electric passenger sedan is based on the all-new Focus. This car has a driving range of 76 miles on a single charge of its lithium-ion high-voltage battery and achieves an EPA-rated combined fuel efficiency of 105 MPGe. We introduced the Focus Electric in the U.S. in 2012 and in Europe in 2013.