Ford has opened their ordering books on its first ever electric car.

The Focus Electric is priced at $39,995, the same as the Chevrolet Volt plug in hybrid and $3,945 more than its closest competitor, the Nissan Leaf. All three cars are eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit and various state incentives available towards purchase of an electric car.

The Focus range has not yet been revealed. Ford has previously said that it would be competitive with the all-electric Nissan Leaf, which has an EPA rating of 73 miles per charge. The 23 KWH battery pack in the Focus can take up to 20 hours to recharge with a 120 volt outlet, but less than up to four hours when plugged into a 240 volt fast charger. Twice as fast as the Nissan Leaf.

Ford says that the cargo area is the same as the Ford Focus which is where they got the design for the Focus Electric.

Ford is not requiring any deposit to reserve a Focus Electric and orders are only being taken in California, New York and New Jersey for now. The Ford Focus will be unveiled in January.

Ford had said it would be available in 19 launch markets by the end of the year, but that target has been pushed back to next year.