2012 Ford Focus Electric Certified at 105 MPGe, 76-Mile Range

With the 2012 Ford Focus Electric set to go on sale this year, the all-electric hatchback has received its official ratings from the EPA. Using a miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) rating, the EPA certified the Focus Electric at 110 MPGe in the city and 99 MPGe on the highway for a combined rating of 105 MPGe to with an official range of 76 miles. As is the case with recent new-model introductions from Ford, the Focus Electric actually exceeded Ford's initial expectations with this rating.

At 105 MPGe combined, the new Focus Electric outperforms the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), but it is slightly outdone by the much smaller and less practical Mitsubishi i-MiEV. Equally important as range is how fast recharging takes, and Ford says that the Focus Electric can be recharged from a 240-volt source in just four hours - about half the time it takes a Nissan Leaf to recharge from this same outlet.

Ford says that this will add up to a savings of $9,700 over the first five years of ownership. The Focus Electric started production at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich. back in December mostly for fleet companies like Google, but Ford dealers will have to wait until sometime in the first half of this year for deliveries to begin. Initially, the Focus Electric will only be sold in California, New York and New Jersey, but by the end of this year, the car will be available in 19 markets.