Ford has confirmed that the 2017 Focus Electric will get a battery upgrade so that it can travel up to 100 miles between charges, but is it enough?
With all the news about the 200-mile range Tesla Model 3 and upcoming Chevy Bolt, will anyone care that the 2017 Focus Electric will be able to drive up to 100 miles on a single charge? While Nissan, Chevy and Tesla are set to end range anxiety with their upcoming 200 mile range EVs, Ford feels that the upgraded 2017 Focus Electric will be enough to win over buyers.
Currently the Focus Electric only has a 76 mile driving range, but this fall the updated 2017 Focus Electric will arrive with a driving range up to 100 miles. Ford feels that 100 miles will be enough to satisfy the daily driving commutes of most drivers.
Related: Ford will release 13 new electrified models by 2020
“I think right now with the launch of the Focus Electric at 100 miles, it is going to satisfy a big chunk of the population,” Kevin Layden, Ford’s director of electrification programs and engineering recently stated at the SAE World Congress. “It’s going to be really affordable and a step up from where we are now.”
The smaller battery pack should help keep costs down, but for only a few thousand more, buyers can get the longer range Chevy Bolt, so will buyers actually buy the updated Focus Electric?
Source: Automotive News
