Ford's All-New E-Transit Electric Van Enters Production

author: Manish Kharinta   

The electric Ford E-Transit cargo van.

Ford Motor Co has been stirring up quite a lot of excitement recently. Last month, the automaker introduced the high-performance Raptor variant of the all-new Ford Bronco SUV. Following the unveiling of the Raptor, the automaker has announced that its battery-powered E-Transit van has officially entered production.

The all-new E-Transit electric cargo van is being built at Ford's Kansas City, Missouri truck plant. 

Even with the ongoing pandemic, sales of electric vehicles are growing at an incredible rate. In Q4 of 2021, there was a noticeable increase in the number of electric cars sold in the U.S., even though automakers struggled to achieve their sales targets last year due to ongoing semiconductor shortages.

Nevertheless, Ford quickly capitalized on the high demand for commercial electric vehicles by electrifying its lauded Transit van into the E-Transit. Unlike Ford's earlier offerings, the current generation E-Transit van is built on an entirely new platform, so it's not just an existing vehicle that has been repurposed into an EV.

According to the automaker, it has already received around 10,000 orders from 300 different customers, including commercial customers, private buyers and government institutions. Among these buyers are the world's largest retailer Walmart, which placed the largest order of 1,100 E-Transit vans. 

As a result of the official production start, we expect the deliveries will follow in the upcoming weeks. Ford has repeatedly expressed its desire to become a leader in the commercial electric vehicle segment. In May 2021, Ford introduced the F-150 Lightning Pro pickup truck which is also targeted at commercial customers.

Ford aims to sell its E-Transit van across its global commercial dealer network, which comprises 1,800+ locations. In the United States alone, Ford has 645 commercial vehicle dealers. Ford says that 90% of these locations are ready for EV sales and service. 

The E-Transit will come with a 68 kWh battery pack. As per EPA estimates, the lithium-ion battery will deliver 126 miles of range on a full charge, which is nearly half of what the Standard Range variant of the F-150 Lightning Pro offers. 

Like its F-150 Lightning pickup, Ford will also offer its battery-only cargo van with DC fast charging capability. With the fast charging feature, customers can recharge the E-Transit at rates up to 150 kW. 

Ford will offer the E-Transit with an eight-year electric powertrain warranty. 

The E-Transit will start at $45,000, which is quite competitive for the commercial vehicle in this segment. With its low starting price, the electric cargo van is poised to become a popular zero-emissions vehicle for commercial customers around the world.

Manish Kharinta

Manish Kharinta is a automotive writer based in the Los Angeles area. He has worked for automotive industry websites TheSmokingClutch.com, CarDekho.com and CarBikeindia.com. His experience ranges from covering auto shows, to car reviews and breaking automotive news. Manish aims to bring forth his unique perspective on automotive design and technological innovations in the automotive industry.