The new 100% electric version of the world's best-selling van, the Ford Transit, has been through a bit of everything. For 12 weeks, it has, among other things, been exposed to extreme conditions with all kinds of weather to ensure that customers get a car that is as reliable and resistant as possible.
Ford test all their vans under far harsher conditions than any customer will be able to expose them to. In that sense, E-Transit is no exception. Ford did this to ensure that customers can safely switch to a reliable electric van like Ford e-Transit.
Ford shows how hard E-Transit has been tested over the 12 weeks to live up to the high Ford standards - both in extreme weather conditions and "wear and tear". The strict test ensures that the electric van can withstand the diesel models, equivalent to 240,000 kilometres driven or about ten years of hard use.
As mentioned, the new electric van has been exposed to a bit of everything. For example, the winter conditions in Michigan in the USA, where it is not abnormal with 30-35 degrees below freezing. The car has also been past Ford's weather factory in Cologne, Germany, where it has again been exposed to cold and extreme heat. For 14 days, it has stood at temperatures above 40 degrees. In addition to extreme weather conditions, E-Transit's driving characteristics have also been put to the test, as it has been exposed thousands of times to huge road holes and challenging terrain at Ford's test centre in Belgium.
The Ford E-Transit electric van has a range of around 350 km (WLTP). The lithium-ion battery is located at the bottom of the van, which means that the cargo space is up to 15.1 cubic meters and thus has the same cargo capacity as the rear-wheel-drive Transit 2T has today. Therefore, the likely load capacity is around 1616 kg for the van and about 1967 kg for the chassis models.
By driving the car through everything from mud to saltwater, the battery's durability and the electric motor have been tested. In addition, the car's resistance to rust has been tested. Finally, the electric motor's security and endurance were tested by running continuously for 125 days.
In Europe, the new Ford E-Transit will be available as a van, double cab, and chassis with different heights and load capacities. Ford anticipates that 60% of their vans sales will consist of electric vans or hybrid vans by 2030.
