Lacombe Ford has gotten the jump on most of its counterparts when it comes to electric vehicles.
The dealership recently earned electric vehicle certification, enabling it to sell and service the new Ford Focus Electric.
An Advocate web search on Monday revealed only three EV-certified Ford dealerships in the province, with the other two in Calgary.
“I know we were definitely one of the first to sign up for the initiative when it was first released,” said Lyndon Taylor, vice-president of sales at Lacombe Ford.
“There may be some other dealers working towards it.”
Ford’s first all-electric car, the Focus Electric is a five-passenger vehicle.
It’s rated at 110 MPG (1.7 litres/100 km) in the city, and has a range of about 160 km (100 miles) on a charge.
Under normal driving conditions, the cost of operating the car would be about $259 a year, said Taylor.
Lacombe Ford will have two charging stations: one in its service centre and the other outside where customers can access it. Charging time there is about four hours, said Taylor, with the time required at a residential outlet closer to 12 hours.
“Ford provided us with extensive product knowledge and training and we have assigned champions in each department to monitor this and ensure success,” said Taylor.
“With charging stations popping up all over Western Canada we feel this technology is here to stay and are excited to see more vehicles from Ford in the near future with this capability.”
Taylor said Lacombe Ford has a Focus Electric in stock.
“We’ve definitely had some interest in it.”
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com