Ford has begun trialling its new electric E-Transit with major fleet operators, ahead of the model’s planned launch in spring next year.
Fleets in the UK, Germany, and Norway are trialling 10 E-Transit prototypes between them.
Among the operators taking part are AWB, Balfour Beatty, the City of Cologne municipal fleet, DHL Express, DPD, Norwegian Post, Ocado and Recover Nordic.
The trial fleet includes a full range of E-Transit variants, including panel van, double-cab-in-van, and chassis cab models, with gross vehicle masses from 3.5t to 4.25t.
Some of the trial vehicles are also specialised conversions, including a refrigerated box body for grocery delivery with a 2.3kW ProPower Onboard system, and a dropside body with light beacons and weight sensors for construction use.
Other trial E-Transits include a caged tipper for refuse removal, a last-mile delivery box body with walkthrough bulkhead and rear air suspension, and a last-mile delivery van with bonded internal racking, walkthrough bulkhead and front jump seat.
The operators taking part in the trial will run the vehicles over six- or 12-month periods.
Ford of Europe market lead for urban electrified vans Dave Petts said: “We want to demonstrate that helping customers reduce their environmental impact can go hand-in-hand with improving their productivity.
“Real-world mileage in customer hands helps us to show the business benefits that the E-Transit can deliver, as well as providing valuable feedback on usage patterns and charging behaviour so that we can refine the operating experience.”
