Ford Australia today confirmed its third electrified vehicle, the all-electric E-Transit Custom. After a very, very long wait for Ford to introduce electric vehicles into Australia, it seems the new E-Transit will arrive in Australia in 2024 – great news!
The E-Transit Custom will join the Australian line-up alongside the Escape plug-in hybrid, due in showrooms this month, and the all-electric Ford E-Transit, due later in the year, as part of plans for at least five electrified vehicles by the end of 2024.
“The E-Transit Custom is exactly the kind of versatile, practical van business customers are looking for, with the benefit of zero-emissions efficiency. We are focused on deeply understanding the needs of commercial vehicle customers and bringing them the best of our global line-up.”
Andrew Birkic, President and CEO, Ford Australia and New Zealand.
The E-Transit Custom is designed to set a new benchmark in the one-tonne van segment and help businesses to effortlessly make the change to electrified vehicles.
Before this, I really haven’t paid much attention to the design of commercial vehicles, they’ve been utilitarian, but given they are responsible for a significant portion of transport emissions, they also need to make the transition to EVs.
Ford’s E-Transit Custom design is very blue but features a unique grill letting everyone know you’re environmentally conscious while preserving the important body shape that provides a large volume of storage to support tasks like parcel delivery.
It looks like Ford will use a charge port in the front bar to the left of the front grill. There are ultrasonic sensors built into the front and rear bar, as well as front-facing radar below the number plate. This suggests some of Ford’s ADAS technology will be on board for the ride.
One of the renders released shows a black set of rims with a dark window tint. While the E-Transit Custom is just a concept today, this styling does give the van a much better visual appearance. Looks aren’t important to most commercial operations, but if you have to choose between this and a competitor vehicle with similar specs, appearance may matter, particularly to smaller businesses.
Electrified and full of purpose
The new E-Transit Custom is built with electrification and next-gen connectivity at its heart. It’s packed with intelligent software and connectivity tools, helping owners to outsmart the day-to-day, maximise vehicle uptime, and ultimately to increase productivity for businesses. Offering compelling range, full towing capability and DC fast charging, E-Transit Custom was developed using in-depth insights from van users to ensure a seamless customer experience.
With an expressive and sculptural design, E-Transit Custom is a working vehicle that companies of all sizes will be proud to have as a trusted partner for their business. Featuring rebalanced proportions, a confident stance and full LED lighting, the new model will set a distinctive new design benchmark in the segment.
All Transit Custom variants will be built by Ford Otosan – Ford’s joint venture in Turkey – at their Kocaeli site, the home of European Transit manufacturing, delivered as part of Ford Otosan’s previously announced €2 billion investment in its facilities.
The all-electric E-Transit Custom will enter production in the second half of 2023.
If you, like me were hoping for key details like the battery capacity, range estimations, fast charging rates and price, you’re going to have to wait. Ford says further product details will be released in September this year.
