How much $$ can the Ford Focus Electric save you?

[klaus]

According to the EPA, who says the Ford Focus Electric gets 110MPGe in the city and 99MPGe on the highway (the Ford Focus Electric Forum has already reported on this), the Ford Focus Electric has an overall fuel economy rating of 105 MPGe.

Ford says this translates into savings of $9,700 in fuel costs alone in 5 years compared to an average new vehicle. Not too bad! But how much more does the Ford Focus Electric cost over the standard Ford Focus? And how many years would you need to drive the same vehicle in order to make your money back?

Ford is still sticking to it's guns that the Ford Focus Electric will be available in 19 markets across the US by the end of 2012.

 

[focusbev]

Although not specifically about the money the Ford Focus Electric can save you, here's an interesting chart comparing the Nissan Leaf SV, the more expensive Lead SL and the Ford Focus Electric.

 

[marta]

With the Ford Focus Electric costing almost $40,000 and the standard internal combustion engine focus costing less than $20,000, there's a huge spread. IMHO, there's no way electric vehicles will become mainstream until this spread lessens.

It is understandable why it costs so much, and there will be some people willing to pay the price to be an early adopter of the Focus Electric, but I'm not sure if i'm there yet...

 

[KeiJidosha]

With the Ford Focus Electric costing almost $40,000 and the standard internal combustion engine focus costing less than $20,000, there's a huge spread. IMHO, there's no way electric vehicles will become mainstream until this spread lessens.

It is understandable why it costs so much, and there will be some people willing to pay the price to be an early adopter of the Focus Electric, but I'm not sure if i'm there yet...

At Focus website here, there is a comparison chart and the Focus Electric seems comparably equipped to the $22k Titanium 5-door model. And expect the Electric to have lower maintenance costs. Your tax advisor can tell you if your eligible for $7.5k federal tax credit, and there are state and local incentives in some areas as well. But as a pure financial decision, I would expect the FFE to have a higher cost up front, but lower cost per mile.

 

[Robert]

The ford focus electric offers huge savings. I own a 2011 now, makes me want to trade it in for a focus ev. My large worries with more and more people going to electric cards like the ford focus electric is that oil companies will start raisig gas prices just to make up for their losses of a lower demand. I know it contradicts economical rules, but I'm sure they could if they wanted to and get away with it.

Either way the ford focus electric is a great car, and the gas savings is incredible.

 

[whitgallman]

owner's manual shows Focus EV has homelink type built in garage door opener. Also has heated seats.

 

[ElectricEV]

For those like poster Marta who are really worried about the high price of the ford focus electric could leasing be a viable option? I know Ford has not announced any specific leasing programs for the focus electric and I believe they are just leaving the terms up to individual dealers at the moment but leasing could really make purchasing the focus ev possible even for those that could not outright buy a 40k car. I was thinking a scenario like:

On your current car you are spending $250 - $400 in gas per month

You lease a Ford focus ev for lets say $600 (use the $300 in gas savings a month and put that towards the lease making the focus ev really only $300 a month to lease which seems super reasonable to me for a brand new state of the art car).

While this concept might not save you money specifically up front it does get you into an electric vehicle, allows you to spend your $'s on something you believe in and by growing accustomed to and learning about electric vehicles early may give you an opportunity to save more in the future in some way.

Another cool angle to take is if you owned a business and made the focus ev a company car and business write off. I am sure there are many creative ways to decrease the cost of an electric vehicle upfront and thus hopefully saving money for yourself in the long run.

 

[fearless_fool]

Comparing a Ford Focus Electric ("FFE") with a Ford Focus conventional ("FFC"), an analysis goes like this. (Caveat: only applicable for California. Your mileage -- literally and figuratively -- may vary.)

Assume a conventional Ford Focus:

• has an MSRP of $20,000
• gets 31 MPG (see http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/focus)
• a gallon of gas costs $4.35 (see http://www.californiagasprices.com/Prices_Nationally.aspx)

Assume a Ford Focus Electric

• has an MSRP of $40,000
• you qualify for $7500 in federal tax credits (see http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/laws/law/US/409)
• you qualify for a $2500 rebate (see http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/laws/law/CA/8161
• gets 100 miles on a fully charged battery (23KW-h)
• super-off-peak electricity costs $0.10 (see http://www.sce.com/CustomerService/rates/residential/electric-vehicles.htm)

A few caveats are in order:

• This does not account for oil changes and other maintenance on the conventional Ford Focus
• This assumes charging is 100% efficient: 23 KW-h consumed from your electric company fully charges the FFE battery
• Gasoline prices (and electric prices) will stay relatively flat

Then

• A conventional Ford Focus costs $20,000 to purchase and $0.14/mile to drive
• A Ford Focus Electric costs $30,000 (after rebates and credits) and costs $0.023/mile to drive

Doing the algebra, break-even happens at (30000 - 20000)/(0.14 - 0.023) miles or 85,235 miles.

Summary:
Until you've driven 85K miles, the conventional Ford Focus costs less. At 85K miles, you will have spent the same amount for either car. After 85K miles, the Ford Focus Electric is significantly cheaper.

Hope this helps.

 

[EEjesse]

So does that mean that for someone like me who drives 30,000 miles per year, i can make up that $10,000 difference in a little over a year and a half? sounds like a good deal to me.

 

[fearless_fool]

First, I've posted my spreadsheet to the web if you want to play with your own numbers:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Am_wIfsXTC9DdERXRi1yZ1RHN0otSVdlYWhxUzR1UGc

@EEjesse: Um, not quite, I'm afraid. If you drive 2500 miles per month (30K/mile), it will take 34 months to get to breakeven (see the spreadsheet). On the other hand, the spreadsheet does NOT account for scheduled maintenance costs.

Don't forget that I'm comparing the FFE with a really economical and fuel-efficient gas vehicle: the Ford Focus costs $20K and gets 31 mpg. If you compare the FFE to a car that costs $24K and gets 24 mpg, breakeven happens under 40K miles, or 15 months.

NOTE: If anyone can provide good references for scheduled maintenance costs, I'd like to include them to the spreadsheet.

 

[mrpalerider]

Comparing a Ford Focus Electric ("FFE") with a Ford Focus conventional ("FFC"), an analysis goes like this. (Caveat: only applicable for California. Your mileage -- literally and figuratively -- may vary.)

Assume a conventional Ford Focus:

• has an MSRP of $20,000
• gets 31 MPG (see http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/focus)
• a gallon of gas costs $4.35 (see http://www.californiagasprices.com/Prices_Nationally.aspx)

Assume a Ford Focus Electric

• has an MSRP of $40,000
• you qualify for $7500 in federal tax credits (see http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/laws/law/US/409)
• you qualify for a $2500 rebate (see http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/laws/law/CA/8161
• gets 100 miles on a fully charged battery (23KW-h)
• super-off-peak electricity costs $0.10 (see http://www.sce.com/CustomerService/rates/residential/electric-vehicles.htm)

A few caveats are in order:

• This does not account for oil changes and other maintenance on the conventional Ford Focus
• This assumes charging is 100% efficient: 23 KW-h consumed from your electric company fully charges the FFE battery
• Gasoline prices (and electric prices) will stay relatively flat

Then

• A conventional Ford Focus costs $20,000 to purchase and $0.14/mile to drive
• A Ford Focus Electric costs $30,000 (after rebates and credits) and costs $0.023/mile to drive

Doing the algebra, break-even happens at (30000 - 20000)/(0.14 - 0.023) miles or 85,235 miles.

Summary:
Until you've driven 85K miles, the conventional Ford Focus costs less. At 85K miles, you will have spent the same amount for either car. After 85K miles, the Ford Focus Electric is significantly cheaper.

Hope this helps.

That is a fantastic break down! Thanks for that! Energy prices will only continue to rise, not just oil. Coal prices hit record highs in 2008 just like oil did but didn`t make it on the headlines because 85% of it is mined and consumed locally...can not blame OPEC for that one! That being said, I would buy a car if it broke even in 2.5years with a conventional car and then cost less per mile after that. However, what will battery replacement cost and what will resale be comparably in 5-8 years :?: I don`t think you`ll save a ton of maintenance costs with oil being changed every 7,000 miles now and sparks plugs last 125,000 miles... you still need tires, breaks, ac tune-ups and the like.

 

[jennilynB]

I believe Ford remains competitive in the electric-powered vehicle market, as well as offering consumers an impressive, competitive and popular array of internal combustion cars and trucks. Dependability is a huge factor with regards to purchasing vehicles, and that is why I always choose Ford. I found the dealership in Spokane that I got my vehicle at by going to this good, brand new site. The site showed me all my options for Fords in the Spokane area. Are you currently trying to sell or purchase a new or used Ford Taurus? Do yourself a favor and visit Spokane auto dealers.

 

[jam0224]

Thanks for the site. It has been very helpful. It showed the best car dealerships in Spokane. I was really fascinated when I went to get a used car at how great the customer support was. It made it that much easier to find a used car dealership I could trust. I ended up with the best car I could have asked for.

 

[GTOGreg]

good points on the economic breakdown. Do not however forget insurance...a necessity. It will cost you about double the Focus ICE version. This may change over time with long term acceptance, parts availability, service acumen, etc...