Ford has pulled the curtain on the fully electric E-Transit. This is the battle in the increasingly busy world of electric company cars.
We already know several electric versions of popular commercial vehicles. For example, Citroën has the ë-Jumpy and ë-Jumper, Peugeot the e-Expert and e-Boxer and Volkswagen has the e-Crafter. Now Ford is also getting into the fight with an electric Transit. Just like the competitors, it gets the letter ‘E’ before the name to indicate that this is not a conventionally powered Transit. Although Ford may appear a little late on the scene with such an alternative, it is immediately well prepared. According to the WLTP cycle, the E-Transit can travel up to 350 km on a fully charged battery pack. That is twice as far as the e-Crafter and 1.5 times as far as the ë-Jumper and e-Boxer.
Instead of a combustion engine, the E-Transit has an electric motor that releases a peak power of 269 hp and 430 Nm of torque to the rear wheels. In that respect too, it leaves its direct competitors behind, because they are roughly half as powerful. All in all, the E-Transit is comfortable in its stuff, although it is of course still the question of how competitive the price will be. A less well-off and therefore probably cheaper version is not yet in prospect.
load
The E-Transit, which only distinguishes itself from the conventionally driven versions with some blue accents in the ‘grille’, is good for a lot of payload. In terms of cargo space, the (closed) electric Transit keeps it with 9.5 to 15.1 cubic meters at the dimensions of the regular Transit. It can carry (preliminary figures) up to 1,616 kilos. In the version with an open chassis (on which another superstructure can be placed), the payload is 1,967 kilos. Of course it all depends on the version you choose; After all, Ford says it will offer 25 different variants of the E-Transit, with varying lengths and heights and closed or cab-chassis design. Anyone who had expected extra cargo space under the hood now that the combustion engine can no longer be found there, should be disappointed.
Then there is of course the other ‘load capacity’, namely that of the battery pack. The E-Transit has a battery pack with a capacity of 67 kWh, which can be recharged with a maximum of 115 kW at the fast charger. This means it can be charged from 15 to 80 percent full in 34 minutes. A full charge takes just over eight hours with the 11.3 kW on-board charger (both AC and DC). Optionally, ‘Pro Power Onboard’ is available, with which the E-Transit can also be used as a charger or power source for electric tools. With a maximum of 2.3 kW you can charge everything again, at the expense of some driving range, of course.
Infotainment and safety
If you take a look at the interior of the E-Transit, it cannot have escaped the notice that a substantial infotainment screen adorns the slightly modified dashboard. That new 12-inch screen is not only the place where you find the climate control in the E-Transit, but also where Ford’s latest SYNC 4 system works. This offers, among other things, improved speech recognition and navigation connected to the ‘cloud’. Updates for this system will come ‘over-the-air’, after all, we live in 2020. You can bet that the ‘normal’ Transit will eventually get this screen and SYNC 4. In terms of safety, the E-Transit will have features such as traffic sign recognition, Intelligent Speed Assist and optional Pre-Collision Assist, Lane Change Warning and adaptive cruise control.
Have you become enthusiastic? Then unfortunately you still have to be patient. The Ford E-Transit will not cross over to our continent until the spring of 2022. At least, then the European version built in Turkey will be available. In the run-up to that market launch, we also expect to have the prices for you.