62 | FIRST DRIVE
Ford crosses the electric bridge with new E-Transit
Just a thought, wonder if Ford Motor Company will change the colour of its trademark Blue Oval to green, now that its electro-mobility programme is taking off in earnest with the imminent launch of the E-Transit? While Ford’s green journey started with the development of the EcoBlue Transit and Transit Custom Hybrids a few years ago, its strategic plan to go fully electric is now in place. Spearheading this plan is the all-new electric 2-tonne Transit which will be at Transit Centres from this Spring, ready to take customers on a zero-emission journey into the future. E-Transit’s arrival follows the introduction of the Ford Pro nameplate for its business transactions going forward, (going further, even, as the brand’s own marketing slogan says!). Full details of the latest model in the Ford Global portfolio, co-developed between Ford Europe, Ford Otosan (Turkey) and Ford in North America, were revealed at a special briefing and test drive opportunity for the IVOTY jury at Kocelli, near Istanbul. Helmut Reder, the then Global Programme Director, Commercial Vehicles (he has since retired), said the brand’s focus “is making customers’ businesses thrive with a full range of products and services.” Having secured Europe’s number 1 best-selling van brand spot for the seventh year in succession, Ford has strength in numbers, commanding 22.7% market share with the Transit Custom, for example, and near 40% domination of the pick-up sector with the Ranger. Through valuable feedback from its broad selection of customers, Ford Design engineers digested all the information regarding how and where its future with electric mobility should take the brand. Apart from a sustainable electric powertrain, they needed to FLEETVAN&UTILITY | Spring 2022
address aspects such as charging infrastructure, telematics, education and real time back-up. All of which were taken on board, provided for and offered through Ford Pro FINSimple, a hassle free bundled
financing package for vehicles, services and electric vehicle charging. Now that the prototypes have evolved into pre-production models, field trials with fleet operators are ongoing to discover more from an operational perspective. Nick Wyman, Ford Europe Brand Product Manager Electric explained that clients’ carbon neutrality needs will be met, and that the E-Transit is the most competent large electric van in the marketplace. During the factory tour at Kocelli, where the new E-Transit is manufactured, Nick explained about the technology and specification
decided upon. “The Ford E-Transit is designed to satisfy a wide range of customer use-cases, with a 68 kWh usable battery capacity as standard, providing a bestin-class targeted driving range of up to 317 km WLTP. True Transit capability is delivered by the most powerful motor offering in the segment with 430 Nm of torque (with a choice of 135 kW or 198 kW maximum output). A payload of up to 1,758 kg and 15.1 cu.m of load volume on the panel van model is offered, while there is a comprehensive range of 25 variants available, including van, crew-cab and chassis cab body styles with multiple lengths and roof heights and GVMs from 3.5 to 4.25 tonnes.” As the elongated battery pack and electric motor are placed underneath the now strengthened but slightly higher ladder frame chassis, a new rear suspension design was developed. It also comes with side impact protection. The rear wheel drive system provides better balance, traction and less tyre wear. Nick concurred with Helmut that vehicle charging is a critical element for
