The Electric Vehicle (EV) market is all set to witness a slew of offerings by major car manufacturers this year. Back in CES 2011, Ford announced its plans to electrify its Focus compact and now the company has recently announced its plans to bring the electric vehicle to the market.

According to company's latest press release, Ford will begin selling the Focus to consumers by late 2012, across 19 markets of North America, with prices starting at $39,200. The new release is an all-electric model which is powered by 23 KWH high-voltage lightweight lithium ion battery, with a charge time of about 4 hours to fully top up the batteries with a 240-volt outlet.

Further, the Focus Electric features an embedded wireless data connection using AT&T's network which enables remote vehicle monitoring and control. It also includes the MyFord Mobile app which will allow the buyer to connect to the car from the iOS, Android and BlackBerry smartphone (or from a Web portal) to check the battery status and range, to initiate charging (if the EV's already plugged in) and to adjust the climate control (to set cabin temperature ahead of time, while still on the grid). It also allows to plan trips by taking into account the location of charging stations and by knowing the vehicle's current position.

It is known to all, that the EV segment is at a primary stage in the market for right now, but the competition is becoming stiff every other day, hence, here is a slideshow of the the top electric cars in the category which are going to give tough competition to the new entrant in the market

Take a look.