Ford Focus Electric in pictures

Ford has taken the wraps off the all-electric version of its Focus at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Ford has taxed its considerable creativity in coming up with its name: the Ford Focus Electric. 

The car is based on the standard petrol-powered 2012 Ford Focus, which we previewed back in September. The electrified version of the car will be driven by a 100kW AC motor, however, which provides 181lb-ft of torque and is sufficiently powerful to provide a top speed of 84mph.

Ford is yet to confirm the vehicle's official range, but it uses the same 23kWh lithium-ion battery pack as Ford's Focus BEV prototype, which was said to achieve 80 miles on a single charge.

One area the Focus Electric should gazump its most direct rival, the Nissan Leaf, is the speed at which its batteries charge. The car features a 6.6kW onboard charger, which is twice the power of the unit featured on the Leaf. As a result, the Focus Electric can be fully charged in under 4 hours -- significantly less than the 7 hours required by Nissan's effort.

The Leaf does appear to hold the advantage in some areas, though. The battery pack located in the rear of the Focus Electric juts out slightly, meaning the car doesn't have a flat loading area at the rear. That said, the car does have plenty of space in the cabin and provides plenty of room for five adults to travel in comfort.

As we reported earlier, drivers can communicate with the Ford Focus Electric using Ford's MyFord Touch smart phone app. This allows you to monitor the remaining level of charge in the battery, specify when the car should begin charging and whether the car should pre-heat or pre-cool the cabin before you set off on a journey.

Have a gander at the photos in our gallery and let us know what you think in the comments below. We'll have more info on the Ford Focus Electric in the coming days.