Ford Says Electric Transit Vans Are Coming for Real This Time
Eager to prove itself as a forward thinking mobility brand, Ford has advised us to prepare for the debut of the battery powered E-Transit van on November 12th. Following some heavy teasing from CEO Jim Farley during the company’s third-quarter earnings call a day earlier, Blue Oval issued an official announcement on Thursday to be ready for the commercial vehicle poised to change the way it does vans.
We’ve heard this before. There was supposed to be a battery electric Transit Connect, developed in partnership with Azure Dynamics, coming to market for the 2011 model year. While a prototype existed and was driven around by numerous outlets who praised it for being incredibly normal, the car ended up being prohibitively expensive to manufacture and kind of underwhelming to live with. Range was an abysmal 56 miles (according to the EPA) and the van was only just barely capable of maintaining highway speeds. In the end, Ford handed the project over to Azure — which nixed the passenger model and sold a few thousand commercial versions to various U.S. bureaucracies, coastal power companies, AT&T and the Canada Post for a little under $60,000 a pop.
Though, like the smaller Transit Connect Electric built by Azure a decade earlier, Ford is again angling the larger E-Transit at the commercial market. Automakers are eager to convince fleet managers that EVs can save them a bundle on fuel and maintenance fees while also trying to push their new software and telematics services. Previous announcements have indicated that the manufacturer would be offering the van in all of the most popular sizes and body styles — including cargo van, cutaway and chassis cab.
Assembly is supposed to commence at the Kansas City Assembly Plant with the first examples hitting the ground late in 2021. The E-Transit is assumed to launch as a 2022 model year vehicle and will have have access to the FordPass charging network.
[Image: Ford Motor Co.]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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...what a tease.....
I'm a small business owner who currently drives big Nissan NV2500 High Roof V8. It's an excellent van but I can't wait for something electric. There is NO way my costs to charge will be near the gargantuan amount I currently spend driving 30,000 miles a year, in the gas Nissan. With hope, the Ford Transit electric will be dependable and have a good range. I also can't wait to have a full "tank" every morning. Hurry up Ford.