Ford Motor Co. is in the middle of heavy development of their electric vehicles including the Focus Electric and C-MAX Energi plug-in. A part of that development is finding an optimal location for the charge ports on the cars themselves. Through market research, Ford has determined that the charge ports should be placed differently than say a conventional fuel cap. In order to make charging these vehicles simple and easy, the location has been placed so that “fueling up” will be instinctive.
“After benchmarking multiple competitive vehicles, we found there wasn’t much consistency in charge port location,” said Susan Curry, Ford Electrified Vehicle Technology Integration supervisor. “We wanted to give customers a location that made the most sense for them and would seem as simple as filling up at the gas station.” According to Ford, an electric vehicle owner is likely to charge up four times a day. This means that there should be no extra effort in doing so and taking into consideration such things as crash protection and proximity to a charging station, Ford determined the left front fender to be the perfect charging port.
“The left front fender location keeps the charge port in sight, before the customer enters or exits the car, for an easy reminder to unplug or recharge,” said Mary Smith, Ford Electrified Vehicle Technology Integration supervisor. “It creates an intuitive placement for owners that also has aesthetic appeal.”
