MWith the new subsidiary “Ford Pro”, the car manufacturer, which is Europe’s number one in the light commercial vehicle segment, wants to push ahead with the electrification of its range of vans. The first is the new Ford E-Transit, which is now available in two performance levels with 184 and 269 hp electric motors. The battery with a net capacity of 68 kWh provides energy for a range of up to 317 kilometers. Thanks to the quick charge function, the battery can be charged to 80 percent in 35 minutes. The prices for the at least 5.53 meter long panel van with a single cab start at 66,400 euros. The electric Ford Transit is also available with a double cab or as a chassis, in three lengths, with three different wheelbases, in two roof heights and with a maximum permissible total weight of up to 4.25 tons.
Air conditioning and the latest Ford Sync 4 entertainment system with an easy-to-read 12-inch central monitor are standard. A new feature is the optional 2.3 kW 230-volt onboard socket, which can be used, for example, to cool the freight or operate external devices. The electric versions of the new Transit Custom and Tourneo Custom, which are in the one-ton commercial vehicle class, will follow next year. In 2024, Ford will launch the next generation of the smaller Transit Courier and Tourneo Courier as urban electric vehicles.
The recently launched “Ford Pro” has set itself the goal of accelerating the transition to the battery-electric future while increasing the productivity of commercial vehicles in the fleet. Commercial customers should be offered the most modern range of vans, and they should be supported with practical services and digital solutions for everything to do with the vehicle fleet. A so-called all-round carefree package offers software solutions, charging technologies, the handling of service and maintenance services as well as financing options. The offer ranges from the free app for managing small fleets of up to five vans, through programming interfaces for large fleets with existing software, to the fee-based, web-based telematics tool with which data on location assignment, driving behavior or fuel consumption can be generated almost in real time to be evaluated.
The required vehicle data is transmitted via the on-board Ford modem, which has been standard equipment in Ford commercial vehicles since 2019. However, older models and vehicles from other brands can also be integrated using a third-party device. Thanks to the access to the digital vehicle information previously approved by the customer, Ford Pro Service can, for example, identify maintenance and repair requirements at an early stage, procure the necessary spare parts on time and thus reduce service-related downtimes and downtimes of the vans by up to 60 percent, says Ford.
The range also includes Ford Transit mobile workshop vehicles that work as rolling maintenance services. The staff can carry out repair work directly at the customer’s site. Ford Pro Charging advises on effective charging strategies, enables access to more than 300,000 charging points in Europe with standardized charging cards or ensures that electricity costs incurred are reimbursed with central billing if employees charge the electric company van overnight at home.
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