Ford Focus electric lights up 100 mpg-e

Some numbers are magical, and in the race to build the most fuel-efficient electric car, the figure that is rapidly coming to mean the most is 100. Triple digits, as in 100 mpg-e.

Ford has fired the latest shot in this green-car war, claiming that the Focus electric will be the first five-passenger vehicle to break the 100-mpg-e barrier. The smaller Mitsubishi i car already gets 112 mpg-e in combined driving.

Not familiar with mpg-e? It's a year-old measure by the EPA that accounts for and calculates the range of technologies being incorporated into electric cars, which use powertrains significantly different from the traditional internal-combustion engine. It stands for miles per gallon-equivalent.

By comparison, the Nissan Leaf is estimated to get 99 mpg-e (combined), and the Chevrolet Volt gets 94 mpg-e when driven in all-electric mode. The Volt can travel about 35 to 40 miles on electricity before a gasoline engine kicks on to extend range. When that happens, the car's fuel economy is 37 mpg under gasoline power.

Consumers in New York, New Jersey and California have been able to order the Focus electric since November, and that will expand to 15 launch markets in 2012. The car uses a lithium-ion battery pack and can recharge in three hours on a 240-volt outlet.

To the Max: Ford's C-Max will be only offered in hybrid or plug-in hybrid variations.

Meanwhile, Ford also said its future electric crossover line, called the C-Max, is expected to get better mpg-e ratings than competitors, though that figure was not specified. The C-Max employs European styling with room for five passengers to bridge the gap between cars and small crossovers. It will come in two versions: a hybrid and the C-Max Energi, a plug-in hybrid. A year ago, Ford said it would offer a gasoline-powered C-Max but reversed course after deciding that the people hauler would be better pitched as a pure green car.

“We can change when market conditions [shift],” Ford sales chief Jim Farley said at an event earlier this year, where the new strategy was detailed. “Ford now offers a dedicated body style.”

The move comes as Ford and other automakers scramble to reach tougher CAFE standards set to take effect in coming model years, placing an increased emphasis on hybrids, pure-electric and other methods of alternative propulsion.

By Greg Migliore