The white Transit van filling your car mirrors may be more than a minor irritation - it is likely to be greener than you. Ford has begun shipping the first production versions of the E-Transit, the fully electric version of the firm’s popular cargo van.
At a celebratory event at the firm’s Gölcük plant in Kocaeli, Turkey, where the vehicle is being built, the first models rolled off the production ahead of delivery to European customers. The firm says it has already received more than 5,000 orders for the electric van, despite production only just beginning.
Hans Schep, general manager of Ford Pro, Europe, said: “Ford Otosan’s Kocaeli plant is the heart of Transit production in Europe, and this celebration of E-Transit manufacturing starts the electrified next chapter in our already strong partnership. This is the first step in a transformation of the Kocaeli site which will see it become a major centre for electric commercial vehicle manufacturing in Europe.”
The E-Transit is the first of two electric commercial vehicles coming from Ford this year, and falls under the Ford Pro ecosystem of end-to-end charging, telematics, service and financing. It is the only mainstream electric van available in eight configurations, with three roof heights and three body lengths available, as well as cutaway and chassis cab versions.
In August last year, Ford began trials of the E-Transit in Germany, Norway and the UK, with various partners in industries such as postal, utilities and grocery delivery. Ten prototype vehicles with different configurations were put to the test in real world conditions, helping to inform the final development of the vehicle.
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