Mandy Dean, Director, CVs, Ford of Britain and Ireland

Company Car & Van caught up with Mandy Dean, Director, Commercial Vehicles, Ford of Britain and Ireland, to learn about the company’s plans for expanding its EV CV line-up.

CC&V: The CV Show last year saw Ford launch the new electric E-Transit. Twelve months on and it’s almost here. The competition has had a head start on you in the electric van sector, so can you tell us why your electric van will be worth the wait?

Mandy Dean: The new E-Transit is competitively priced, has class-leading range and there’s no compromise on payload. E-Transit is also fully backed up by Ford Pro – an ‘app store’ suite of services to aid fleet managers. We’ll help with setting up the charging infrastructure, be it at home, depot or on the public network, and our telematics tools keep an eye on range, nearest charge points and any required maintenance.

With regards to public charging, Ford’s aggregated charge network operators combine into one ‘Blue Oval’ network, enabling drivers to charge using a single RFID card.

For home charging (in a commercial sense), charges can be identified through telematics and subsequently reimbursed if they take place in a pre-determined area, ie, a home postcode.

Then there’s the digital dashboard, which can help manage time windows for vehicles to start and stop charging – at night, to avoid peak times, for example – and these vehicle charge levels across any given fleet can be based on individual routes.

So it’s more than just the van, which just so happens to be a Transit, and that’s why it’s worth the wait.

CC&V: You’ve also just announced another electric van, this time the E-Transit Custom. How long will we have to wait for this model to arrive in the UK?

MD: E-Transit Custom will arrive in early 2024, and will be supported by the Ford Pro ecosystem, just like the two-tonne variant.

CC&V: Talking of Transit Custom, it was the UK’s best-selling vehicle in 2021. There’s also a new ICE version of this launched shortly. At this stage can you tell us any more about it?

MD: The new Transit Custom will be available with combustion engines, including hybrid and, of course, the E-Transit Custom, which is 100% electric and capable of 236 miles (WLTP) on a single charge.

CC&V: There are now only three pick-up choices for UK customers. How important is it for Ford to have the Ranger and is the pick-up sector one that you are looking to do more business in?

The total package makes E-Transit well worth the wait

MD: Ranger accounts for approximately 40 per cent of the UK pick-up market sector and one-in-three sold across Europe. However, we’ve seen steady growth in Ranger sales since before competitors left the sector. Ranger is a very important vehicle to all customers – retail, fleet and everyone in between – so we are always looking at new opportunities.

CC&V: Supply issues continue, so hypothetically, if a customer orders an E-Transit in June, when are they likely to see their new van?

MD: Ford Transit lead times are currently anywhere from six to 12 months from the date of ordering, which is the result of a number of parts shortages for both E-Transit and diesel-powered models.

CC&V: You took the largest stand at the recent CV Show. How was this year’s event and do you feel that Ford benefitted from having such an impressive presence there?

MD: The CV Show is a very important show for us as the market leader, as it provides a great opportunities to speak to our exist fleet customers and, of course, introduce ourselves to new customers.

It also provides a great platform to display our latest and greatest models and Ford Pro services.

“The new E-Transit is competitively priced, has class-leading range and there’s no compromise on payload. E-Transit is also fully backed up by Ford Pro and has a digital dashboard, to help manage charging ... so it’s more than just the van, which just so happens to be a Transit, and that’s why it’s worth the wait...”