(Detroit, Jan. 12, 2009) At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week, Ford confirmed plans to build two battery electric vehicles beginning in 2010 and 2011. The 2010 vehicle will be a light commercial van for commercial fleets but at this time the company has not revealed any technical details.

The 2011 vehicle will be a compact car model that will be available for sale to retail customers. The 2011 BEV will be based on the next generation of Ford's C-Segment platform which is used for the Focus as well as other vehicles only available in Europe including the C-Max MPV.

The company has not yet revealed precisely which car will get the electric powertrain, although Chief Engineer Greg Frenette acknowledged a vehicle like the C-Max would make sense because its configuration would make it easy to package the battery.

During the show Ford brought two powertrain development "mules" that were made available to journalists including Green Fuels Forecast for short evaluation drives. The mules were both current generation US market Focus sedans fitted with electric drive and lithium ion battery packs.

The current program actually started with supplier Magna International in mid-2008. Magna is trying to break into new market segments including electric propulsion systems. Magna's Dick Devogelaere told GFF that the first electric Focus was built as a demonstrator for its electric propulsion technology. When Ford decided to move ahead with a commercial battery electric vehicle, it chose to partner with a company like Magna in order to speed up the time to market and reduce the program risks.

Magna has packaged the electric motor and power electronics in a cradle that bolts right up to the standard drivetrain mounting points in the Focus engine bay. The intent is to do the same with production car allowing the BEV to built on the same line with the conventional internal combustion variant.

Because this particular car is technology demonstrator, the Magna engineers had to adapt some ancillary components to get it running. For example a vacuum pump is mounted in engine compartment to drive the brake booster since the electric drive system cannot provide vacuum.

The battery pack is packaged in the trunk and under the rear seat of the development vehicles. Devogelaere would not provide any specifics about the lithium ion chemistry that is being used or the supplier. However, he did reveal that the pack is air cooled unlike the liquid cooled packs being used by many automakers. As expected the electric Focus is heavier than a standard model but the weight gain is a relatively modest 450 lbs.

On the road the Focus EV mule feels remarkably well finished overall. Since we drove the car around downtown Detroit, maximum speeds were limited to about 30 mph. However, as usual with electric drive systems, the ample low end torque provided excellent off the line acceleration. Frenette tells us that 0-60 mph acceleration should be under 10 seconds, similar to a conventional four cylinder Focus.

The EV has a single speed transmission that is basically just a reduction gear with a differential. The mule vehicle retains the standard automatic transmission lever and shifting from Drive to Low triggers increased regenerative braking simulating the feel of a downshift.

The only noticeable flaw in the operational refinement of the car was some vibration in the brake pedal when standing still. According to Devogelaere this was caused by the vacuum pump which the engineering team will be replacing with a different setup. Aside from that there was no noticeable whine from the motor or transmission.

Frenette tells us that the production models coming about two years will have a nominal plug-in range of about 100 miles. The cars will be made available for direct sale to retail customers in Ford showrooms but no pricing information is known yet. Ford is expected initial sales in the thousands annually.