Ford Transit PHEV debuts in Hanover
Ford has taken the wraps off their Transit Custom PHEV at the IAA Commercial Vehicles. The van is now ready to go serial and Ford aims to start volume production in the second half of 2019.
While the presentation in Hanover marks the public and official debut of the plug-in hybrid van, production-near specimens of the Ford Transit PHEV have also been used since last year for fleet trials in London and the Spanish town of Valencia reportedly.
This mean we have known about the technicalities for some time. The Ford Transit PHEV has an electric range of 50 kilometres but the idea is to use the electric drive as much as possible. Ford calls this their EcoBoost technology not unlike Nissan’s ePower system. Ford couples a 1.0-litre petrol engine that tends mainly as as range extender to the liquid-cooled battery. According to the latest information by the manufacturer, the total range will be more than 500 km, and the PHEV model retains the load volume and 1-tonne payload capability of the diesel-powered van.
The market launch of the Ford Transit Custom PHEV is planned for the second half of 2019.
It shares the spotlight in Hanover with an updated Ford Transit Custom range that has the option of a 48-volt mild hybrid drive (mHEV) – a first in this segment, says Ford.
As far as investments in electrified vehicles are concerned, Ford has bigger plans: By 2022, the carmaker wants to invest 11 billion dollars in development and production. 16 pure electric and 24 hybrid vehicles are to be brought on the market reportedly.
Moreover, Ford had recently increased their efforts in China and agreed to look into electric car sharing together with its local partner Zoyte there.
In Europe, Ford also expanded its cooperation with Deutsche Post/DHL and some of their larger StreetScooter vans. The electric vans are now available at Ford dealerships for third parties to buy (we reported).
0 Comments