The good old ubiquitous Ford Transit van is not necessarily the epitome of cool in most eyes, but lurking in the background of the traditional Transit van is a long history of some rather cool modified and custom vehicles. Now Ford has invigorated their long running workhorse with the announcement of the E-Transit Custom, with far more pleasing visuals.
With a range of 236 miles, the new E-Transit should be able to cater for most uses without too much fuss. It will have a fair bit to live up to of course, as the Ford Transit is currently still the UK’s best-selling vehicle, so any change to the future of this van is clearly a big deal, but it does give Ford’s designers the chance to give the E-Transit a more modern custom look and feel. Production is due to commence in the latter part of 2023 at Ford’s Turkey-based Otosan plant in Kocaeli, and will be one of five new commercial electric vehicles from the manufacturer. All are intended to hit Europe by 2024.
The new mid-sized E-Transit Custom will share parts with the new VW Transporter thanks to a deal struck between the two manufacturers. As far as looks go, the E-Transit now falls in with the Tourneo, Fiesta and Focus thanks to a revamped front view and rebalanced proportions which, according to Ford, give the E-Transit a confident, more aggressive stance. Of note is the prominent hexagonal design of the grille and the new jaunty angled LED headlight cluster which incorporates a daytime running light stretching across the top of the grille.
The existing E-Transit runs off a 68kWh battery and while Ford isn’t yet revealing how the E-Transit Custom will be powered, with DC fast charging and a full towing capacity, it’s possible that it will use the same power source. This would suggest an E-Transit Custom having a choice of either 181bhp or 265bhp and offering 318lb ft of torque. This will also enable the E-Transit Custom to virtually match the standard Transit’s payload.
The E-Transit Custom will also gain from access to the full Ford Pro ecosystem including software upgrades. The electric van will also get Ford Pro Power Onboard which can turn a commercial Ford into a mobile generator offering power to most available tools and appliances. Very handy.
The new E-Transit has been designed from the ground up and is intended to set a benchmark in the electric one-tonne commercial vehicle segment. While Ford is being coy with any further details as yet, the new electric van looks like it will get a proper showcase announcement in September with full specs. While pricing is not yet available, it’s being suggested pricing may well fall into the £40,000 region. It certainly looks like a visual advancement on the old Transit van.
Images: media.ford.com
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