Ford Transit goes all-electric, might come here

Saturday, 7 March 2020

No details other than a green outline and confirmation that the Transit is going electric.

If the all-electric version of the Transit van goes into right-hand-drive, the queue could well start in New Zealand.

Even though it still has little 'hard' information to work with, enthusiasm for the new model just announced by Ford's head office in Detroit is running high at the brand's New Zealand operation.

Ford is bringing the Transit plug-in hybrid to New Zealand - here's how it works.

Only a line drawing has been shown and potential for actual availability, technical and performance details remain under wraps, though Ford high-ups are already suggesting it could go 480kms between charges.

This is enough to compel a local spokesman to suggest the electric Transit would be the ideal next-step companion for a plug-in range extender version just about to launch locally.

**READ MORE:

While RHD production of the all-electric Transit is yet to be confirmed, the plug-in hybrid version of the Transit Custom is definitely on its way here.

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* All-new Escape to kick off Ford's local electric charge**

'We think it would be perfect,' said communications and Government Affairs manager Tom Clancy after the electric Transit's announcement in Detroit.

'At this point we don't have a lot of information and don't know if it will be confirmed for right-hand-drive.

Ford's PHEV Tranist is actually a range extender, with the small petrol engine only acting as a generator.

'But New Zealand would be such a great market for it, because everyone is so pro-EV here.'

What is kindling interest is the potential long-term production plan which seems set to expand output from a plant in the US, which is purely to feed that country and Canada, and to also include a factory in Turkey. That latter proposal, if realised, conceivably opens up the chance of a right-hand-drive model.

Meantime, Ford NZ is preparing to lay down the welcome mat for the petrol-electric Transit Custom.

Labelled a plug-in hybrid despite technically being a range extender – by virtue of the 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine never actually directly driving the wheels - the PHEV Transit Custom, and sister Tourneo eight-seat passenger model, are still four to five months away.

Pricing is set to be announced soon yet even without knowing the spend, and potential premium over the diesel cargo van variants that retail from $62,890 through to $74,690, interest - especially from commercial operators whose businesses are city-centric - is already on the rise, Clancy says.

The appeal of 56 kilometres of pure electric range in perfect conditions might yet prove a stretch, as it was measured under the discontinued and flawed NEDC protocol, but that's not a deterrent.

'People can see the benefit especially for short-haul work, you can drive all day on electric.'

The PHEV models have a total range of 500km and run a 92.9kW electric motor fed by a 13.6kWh liquid cooled lithium-ion battery pack, which can be charged in 2.7 hours. As in the electric Transit, the battery is located under the load area.

Peak power of 93kW, at an astounding 9000rpm, and 355Nm of torque are cited, while CO2 emissions of 60g/km and fuel consumption of 2.7 litres per 100km is also claimed. The Transit version has a payload of 1130kg.

Ford NZ sees the range extender model making a big impression in its own right within a battery-reliant sector that presently supports just one like-sized equivalent, the fully electric LDV EV80, which retails for $80,489 and has a claimed range of 180kms, plus the smaller Renault Kangoo ($74,990, 200km).

However Clancy says the fully-electric next step could conceivably has just as much, if not more, impact.

'Even though we don't yet know too much about it, it does seem to be the right thing for us.'

Expected to be in production as early as next year, the electric Transit has potential to become the highest volume product in Ford's emergent electric vehicle plan, which also includes the Mustang Mach-E and an all-electric F-150 truck and requires a $NZ18.8 billion spend through to 2022.