It was also important that Ford make it easy for drivers who might switch between the E-Transit and the internal combustion Transit. This is a massive deal because just about every Transit sold is modified, and it can take years for aftermarket upfitters to adjust their wares to fit a new platform. Mounting the battery under the chassis is especially important because the company's designers worked very hard to make sure all the mounting points on the frame were identical between the Transit's internal combustion and electric versions. I suspect the whole setup is borrowed from the Mustang Mach-E, although Ford wouldn't confirm or deny this. Gone is the internal combustion engine, with a rear-mounted electric motor and a 68 kilowatt-hour (usable) battery pack underneath the chassis. The E-Transit is a lightly modified version of the existing Transit van. My video review of the Ford E-Transit and the new Ford Pro commercial services.įord is going in a different direction, both with the F-150 Lightning and with my test car this week, the Ford E-Transit van. in the past few years has been entirely consumer-focused.

Tesla appears to have no interest in the commercial vehicle or fleet markets, and every other EV launched or announced in the U.S. Ford is working on an entire lineup of them, starting with the Mustang Mach-E crossover (my Sports Car of the Year for 2021) and, soon, the Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck.īut there's something conspicuously missing from most discussions of light electric vehicles: business use. A friend of mine once referred to his early production Tesla Model S as a “middle-aged man magnet.”īut now, finally, there are EVs for regular folks too. They're nearly all used for business, making them prime candidates for electrification.įor years, electric cars were bought primarily by two kinds of folks: environmentalists and early adopter techies.

Whether a cable company technician or a locksmith, plumber, electrician, baker, flower, or Amazon delivery guy, the Transit is everywhere. The Ford Transit is one of those vehicles you see all the time but don't really notice.