Ford EVs only for North America for starters, first up is Transit Connect EV van

(Ford)

Ford announced November 2 that it will release its first EV, the Transit Connect EV van, in the US and Canada in 2010.

Ford's EV plan has been far less noisy than that for the Nissan or Renault, but the Detroit automaker's tight lips do not imply a lack of ambition. Ford will introduce its Transit Connect EV van in 2010 and the Focus EV in 2011, which will be tested in the UK next year.

But while Renault is selling its Fluence in places like Israel and the Denmark, and Nissan plans to release its Leaf in Japan, Europe and the US, the Ford Transit Connect EV will only be sold in the US, despite the Connect's widespread popularity across Europe.

"For the moment we have not announced any future EV products for Europe or Asia," a spokesperson for Ford Europe told Relaxnews on November 3. "Ford is focusing on EVs solely for the US."

The van will travel over 100 miles (161 kilometers) on a single charge, has a top speed of nearly 70 miles per hour (113 kilometers per hour), and aims at the commercial market.

The car debuted just this year but is making an unusually quick transition into production.