Car maker Ford announced its first ever car to work purely on electricity called Ford Focus Electric, alongside a mobile app named MyFord Mobile, which aims to assist would-be users of the new electric car locate the nearest charging stations.
Ford seems to have timed their entry into the electric car market well with sales of electric cars expected to grow sharply in the next few years. Electric and hybrid cars were reported to be worth $21.13 billion last year, and it is forecasted they will be worth $103.13 billion by 2017, based on research from MarketsandMarkets.
With the MyFord Mobile app, the sales of the Ford Focus Electric are expected to do well as the app makes managing and operating the car easier, more interactive and fun.
The app allows for, amongst many features, remote communication with the car from the mobile phone allowing the owner to monitor current charge levels; start the car remotely; vehicle locator; forums and social network integration; and ability to upload the car and driver’s statistics to platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
Another important feature is the ability to charge the car remotely given that it is plugged in at home. Ford developed the remote charging technology on the app in conjunction with Microsoft using their cloud computing technology.
Joe Rork who is the MyFord Mobile product manager had this to say on this exciting innovation: “The MyFord Mobile app and the Focus Electric work together to coach drivers to be more efficient and maximize the benefits of the electric vehicle experience.”
The car is currently only available in the USA with no announcement from Ford whether it will be made available for sale in Africa.
In a continent with a poor public transport system and high fuel costs in contrast to its citizens earnings, an all electric car – provided it is affordable – could be popular also given Africa’s high adoption of mobile technology.
The app is currently only available on the iPhone.
