Frankfurt Auto Show: Ford Focus BEV Prototype

Ford Europe is presenting at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show it's own interpretation of an electric vehicle, in the form of the Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) prototype. The BEV is aimed to take part in UK's "Ultra-Low Carbon Vehicles" demonstration initiative, to debut next year.

“The development of this fleet of Focus BEV prototypes is an important step in our goal of delivering more efficient and sustainable mobility solutions that are affordable and practical for our customers. We are looking forward to working with the various project partners on developing a realistic solution and viable market for electric vehicles both in the UK and Europe," John Fleming, Ford Europe CEO said in a release.

The BEV is based of the European spec Focus and is using a Magna-sourced all-electric drive train. Power is stored in a lithium-ion battery pack and will provide the BEV with a 120 km (75 miles) autonomy.

The EV is capable of reaching a top speed of up to 136 km/h (85 mph), thanks to the permanent-magnet motor which develops 100 kW of power and 320 Nm of torque, while charging time for the batteries is in between 6-8 hours using a common 230 volt grid.

Ford will build, in all, fifteen prototype Ford Focus BEV vehicles, as well as a charging infrastructure in and around the London Borough of Hillingdon. The cars are to be used for testing purposes by a consortium made of Ford, Scottish and Southern Energy and Strathclyde University.