- ford will now offer a fully electric transit van: the e-transit, powered by a 67.0-kwh battery with up to 126 miles of range.
- the e-transit will start at no more than $45,000, ford says, and will be offered in the numerous configurations the current transit is available in.
- the 2022 e-transit is expected to arrive in mid-2021.
for 2022, ford's popular transit work van is joined by the e-transit, a fully electric cargo van optimized for fleet use. the 2022 e-transit will offer many of the popular attributes of the transit, including varying sizes for different customers as well as the ability to upfit the interior to a huge variety of needs and uses.
the rear-wheel-drive e-transit has a single motor in the back putting out 266 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque. there are eight models, all with the same powertrain but a choice of three roof heights and three lengths, in addition to a chassis cab and cutaway models. the van will offer 126 miles of range for the low-roof cargo van and will start at no more than $45,000, ford says.
the e-transit will charge up 10 miles of range in an hour with a level 2 charger or 30 miles of range in 10 minutes with a dc level 3 fast charger. both options come with ford's standard mobile charger. a 2.4-kwh generator that can power tools on a worksite or elsewhere is an available option.
sync 4, ford’s latest infotainment system, is standard on the e-transit alongside a 12.0-inch infotainment screen, an improvement over the 4.0-inch screen in the gas-powered transit. work-friendly features come with the e-transit's sync 4 system such as active driver coaching, which will correct a driver who hits the brakes hard, rapidly accelerates, or drives above the speed limit.
driver assist features such as lane-keeping assist and pre-collision assist with automated emergency braking come as standard on the van, while other features such as adaptive cruise control with speed sign recognition and speed assist come as available. blind-spot monitoring, a 360-degree camera, and reverse brake assist are optional.
when fleet managers activate the standard 4g connectivity in the e-transit, they can then use the tools from ford commercial solutions to monitor and manage the vehicles in their fleet. managers can see when a van is in use or when it's charging as well as monitor the efficiency of a given van. fleet managers can also precondition vans while they are charging and track them with gps to see when they are and aren't in use.
the ford transit is the most popular commercial van in the u.s.; its 2019 sales were more than double its next competitor, the chevrolet express, and now with the e-transit, its appeal will be even more broad as this market grows. from 2014 to 2018, electric-vehicle fleet sales went up by four times, and by 2040, the number of electric vehicles in fleets is expected to hit 15 million, according to a recent study from ernst & young.
the e-transit will be built at ford's kansas city plant. it's slated to arrive in late 2021, meaning it will reach markets before the electric f-150, which is planned to arrive in mid-2022. it's difficult to say how many competitors will be on the market when the e-transit reaches the public—if there are even any—but currently, rivian is working on an electric van and is fulfilling a 100,000-unit order for amazon. general motors has also been reportedly working on its own electric van, and hyundai-backed arrival is also developing its own electric van.