While the Ford Focus EV was intended to be sold at a lower price than some of the ultra-slick electric vehicles soon to appear on showroom floors, such as the Chevy Volt at $40,000 and the Tesla Roadster at $109,000, it may have a higher base price than originally planned. For its first few years, Ford will expect to sell no more than a few thousand of its new electric vehicle, the Focus EV. Mark Fields, Ford's president for the Americas confessed that although the new Ford Focus electric vehicle will probably not generate 2 million sales per year globally as he had hoped, he promised that Ford would make the Focus EV "as affordable as we can."

The new Ford Focus electric car promises to travel 100 miles per charge from its lithium-ion battery pack, whose technology is several thousand dollars more expensive than its traditional gas propulsion system. Ford is retooling its Michigan Truck Plant to build the redesigned Focus and the Focus EV, saving money by using an existing facility and by using a platform with which it plans to replace the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid as well.

With an expected tax credit, you may be able to score a new Focus EV for between $25,000 and $30,000. Mr. Fields predicts that as the number of charging stations increases and trust in the technology of plug-in electric cars is established, the appeal of the Ford Focus EV will rapidly improve.