I sure hope Ford will soon introduce a serious BEV, but like stopcrazypp says, their press releases so far don't necessarily indicate that. The Focus' minor improvements don't look serious - they are just enough to keep up with other BEVs to make compliance numbers - but supposedly they have an all-new BEV to present soon. We'll see.
Over in the Ford Focus thread where this topic was also discussed, I noted that my list of ROI strategies discussed in this thread is a shortened list to focus on what most automakers are doing in this space - automakers do have strategies other than the ones listed above. Here's another example, that could apply to Ford in this case: With their PEVs, Ford seems to be following a "defensive" strategy (I do not know what name they use for it in the industry).
When other automakers like Nissan came out with the LEAF as a conquest car to grab buyers from other automakers (a strategy that is going gangbusters for them), others like Ford built cheap similar cars just to hold on to brand loyalists that might otherwise have jumped ship. This is similar to what GM tried to do with the 1985 Astro van after the 1984 Dodge Caravan appeared. I haven't seen any numbers, but I suspect that most Focus buyers are Ford loyalists that wanted a BEV but didn't want to go to Nissan.
Of course not all Focus BEV buyers are Ford loyalists; the Focus is similar enough to the LEAF that somebody that simply prefers the looks of the Focus may buy it instead of the LEAF. Such buyers would be giving up DC charging (though that may not be available in some areas, or important to some buyers with other cars) and getting less trunk space - and until the new Focus comes out, they are getting less range too. And they might have to work harder to get one through their local dealers, though that varies.
Over in the Ford Focus thread where this topic was also discussed, I noted that my list of ROI strategies discussed in this thread is a shortened list to focus on what most automakers are doing in this space - automakers do have strategies other than the ones listed above. Here's another example, that could apply to Ford in this case: With their PEVs, Ford seems to be following a "defensive" strategy (I do not know what name they use for it in the industry).
When other automakers like Nissan came out with the LEAF as a conquest car to grab buyers from other automakers (a strategy that is going gangbusters for them), others like Ford built cheap similar cars just to hold on to brand loyalists that might otherwise have jumped ship. This is similar to what GM tried to do with the 1985 Astro van after the 1984 Dodge Caravan appeared. I haven't seen any numbers, but I suspect that most Focus buyers are Ford loyalists that wanted a BEV but didn't want to go to Nissan.
Of course not all Focus BEV buyers are Ford loyalists; the Focus is similar enough to the LEAF that somebody that simply prefers the looks of the Focus may buy it instead of the LEAF. Such buyers would be giving up DC charging (though that may not be available in some areas, or important to some buyers with other cars) and getting less trunk space - and until the new Focus comes out, they are getting less range too. And they might have to work harder to get one through their local dealers, though that varies.
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