European Trials Of The Ford E-Transit Kickoff

Emissions regulations are increasing worldwide, pushing automakers to begin building more electric vehicles to suit a variety of needs. In Europe, some cities have hit commercial van users particularly hard as legislation aims only to allow zero-emission vehicles in some city centers. As a result, Ford is working to produce a line of commercial vans that run on pure electricity called the E-Transit.

The automaker has announced that its electric E-Transit vans have begun trials with customers operating major European fleets. Trials are underway ahead of Ford's expected volume launch for the electric vehicles in the spring of 2022. The trials have placed the electric vans with multiple operators in Europe, including postal, municipal, utility companies, and delivery sectors.

Ford has a range of E-Transit models with different cab and chassis conversions available. Among the available models are box vans, refrigerated trucks, tipper, and dropside bodies. The trial operates a fleet of ten E-Transit prototype vehicles that are being tested in what Ford calls intensive real-world operating scenarios. They're being tested in cities in Germany, Norway, and the UK.

Ford counts some major companies among its trial partners, including AWB waste disposal, Balfour Beatty, the City of Cologne municipal fleet, DHL express in the UK, DPD, Norwegian Post, Ocado, and Recover Nordic. Fleet operators are testing the full range of van variants, including normal vans, double-cab-in-van, and chassis cab derivatives weighing between 3.5 and 4.25 tonnes.

The trial is the latest phase in the development plan for the E-Transit coming off of the automaker's testing program at its proving grounds and engineering facilities worldwide. The trial will see partners operating E-Transit prototypes for six or 12-month periods. The refrigerated box body is particularly interesting and is being used for grocery delivery. It powers the refrigerator with a 2.3 kW ProPower OnBoard system.