Ford app will control Focus charge by phone

Ford said today it will offer an application that will allow owners of its new battery-powered Focus Electric to control the recharging process with their smartphones.

The application, called MyFord Mobile, will be announced by Ford at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The application is part of Ford's philosophy that consumers who are interested in electric cars are people who like technology and want to do everything possible to reduce their own energy usage.

The multi-screen application can display the charging status of the car, allows the owner to start or stop the charging process, can locate the nearest charging station and can display the overall health of the Focus Electric's battery. It will be free for the first five years.

General Motors, which started selling its extended-range Chevrolet Volt in December, offers an application with similar remote-monitoring capability on smartphones, such as BlackBerries and iPhones.

The Focus Electric is Ford's first battery-powered electric vehicle designed for consumer use and has a targeted range of about 100 miles on a single charge.

Ford has not said how much the Focus Electric will cost, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not rated its fuel economy.

The automaker expects to begin selling the Focus Electric at the end of this year and is anticipating annual sales of 5,000 to 10,000 cars.