European trials to begin for Ford’s electric transit van
Ford has announced that the first European customer trials of its all-electric E-transit van will be underway soon.
Prototype E-Transit vehicles will be joining customer fleets to operate in “challenging real-world conditions” with businesses in the supermarket, home delivery, postal services and utilities sectors across Germany, Norway and the UK.
Ford’s European customer trials form part of a development programme for E‑Transit ahead of its launch in spring 2022. Engineers will also use data from the trials to help refine E‑Transit’s connected vehicle technology and range management features.
Prototype vehicles taking part in the trial – assembled at Ford’s global commercial vehicle centre of excellence in Dunton, UK – will include E-Transit van and chassis cab variants with conversions including refrigerated bodies, box vans, dropsides and interior racking.
Andrew Mottram, E-Transit chief programme engineer for commercial vehicles at Ford of Europe, said: “Real-world trials are an important step on our journey to deliver the all-electric E‑Transit and will give us an even better understanding of how to help customers across different industries enhance their productivity using zero-emission power.”
E-Transit’s all-electric powertrain delivers up to 200kW of power for a targeted WLTP range of up to 217 miles, supported by range-boosting technologies including Eco Mode and Scheduled Pre-Conditioning.
The electric transit’s load area is common with diesel-powered Transit models for ease of conversion, and to allow Transit operators to reuse existing racking with the all-electric van. An industry-first ProPower Onboard system delivers up to 2.3kW through standard plugs to power conversions and equipment in the cab and load area.
Ford has also said it expects service cost of ownership to be approximately 40% lower compared with internal combustion engine-equipped models, as a result of lower maintenance expenses.
