Ford Motor Co. is expecting lukewarm sales of the Ford Focus Electric in the coming year, even despite an extra 700 dealers who will soon be certified to sell Ford’s only all-electric vehicle. Mostly to grow the footprint of the Fusion Energi and C-max Energi plug-in hybrids, Ford is widening its dealer network to 900 EV certified dealers by spring.
Currently Ford’s only electric vehicle, the Focus Electric is anticipated to comprise of less than 5% of its hybrid and electric vehicle sales moving forward. Last year, Ford sold 685 Focus Electric vehicles which was around 2% of Ford’s total EV and Hybrid vehicle sales.
“Overall, it’s meeting our expectations in the marketplace,” said C.J. O’Donnell, Ford’s group marketing manager of electrification, in a telephone interview. “I think as we expand the footprint, by definition, we will get more customers.”
The road forward will be a tough one – with Nissan’s recent price drop on the Leaf, the Focus Electric is $10,000 more expensive.
