A North Carolina man drove 650 miles to buy his new EV at Hassett Ford in Wantagh, New York.

Ssssshh! Don’t tell anyone, but Ford delivered the first Focus Electric to a retail customer this weekend. A North Carolina man drove 650 miles to buy his new EV at Hassett Ford in Wantagh, New York, according to the MyFocusElectric online forum. From Ford we’ve heard not a peep – no press release, no party, no politicians, no speeches about sustainability, no dancing girls.

Why the paucity of publicity? Maybe Ford has learned from the marketing mistakes of Nissan and GM, which set optimistic sales targets for their EVs, then endured the ridicule of the press when deliveries fell short. Maybe Ford is just tired of the ridiculous levels of hype that accompany most new car launches. Maybe Ford sees EVs as merely a sop to the polar bears (and California air-quality regulators) and doesn’t really care if it sells any.

By all accounts, the new electric hatchback is nothing to be ashamed of. With a 130-hp motor and a 23-kWh battery, it has an EPA-certified range of 76 miles. With a MSRP of $39,995, it’s in the same price range as the Volt and the LEAF, and is only a few grand more than Ford’s comparable gas burner. Why the secrecy? We mean to sit down with some of the big wheels at Ford very soon and find out. Stay tuned.

Source: MyFocusElectric.com
Image: Ford