The carmaker had originally targeted high demand areas of California, New York and New Jersey, from where customers have been able to buy the Focus Electric since this spring. A further 700 dealers are now awaiting certification, which will bring the total to almost three times Ford’s initial plans to have 350 certified dealers by early 2013.

At the start of next year, the Focus Electric will be joined by the C-MAX Energi and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrids. Certification requires two charging points to be installed, on-site demonstrators, training for sales staff and an assessment of the dealer’s energy efficiency.

‘The amount of hard work and resources dealers put into becoming certified really is a testament to how excited they are, how excited customers are, and how excited we are about C-MAX Energi,’ said Paul Russell, Ford’s field operations manager.