New electric Ford E-Transit will send White Van Man down the EV road

Ford reveals the E-Transit electric van more than a year ahead of its arrival, promising an electric revolution for van drivers.

There is a strong argument that making every car driver desert ICE propulsion for EVs is the minor part of the emissions problem, when what we really should do is concentrate on getting rid of high emission commercial vehicles.

Ford intends to play its part in that by turning the long-lived Transit, long thought of as the ‘White Van Man’ transport of choice, in to an electric van, with up to 25 different variants offering an electric Transit for all needs.

Power for the E-Transit’s 265bhp electric motor comes from a 67kWh battery under the floor – enough to deliver over 200 miles of range, three times the average daily Transit use – with AC charging from an on-board 11.3kW charger and DC at rates up to 115kW, meaning a fast charge from 15-80 per cent will take just a bit over half an hour. 

Crucially, despite the heavy burden of the batteries under the floor, the E-Transit gets the same load capacity as a RWD diesel Transit, with payloads of 1616kg for the van and 1967kg for the chassis cab models.

One very useful feature is what Ford are calling ‘Pro Power Onboard’ which allows the E-Transit to be used as a plug-in source, delivering up to 2.3kW of power for tools and equipment. Which sounds mighty handy, just as long as you leave enough juice to get home after.

Inside is pretty much standard Transit – as is the exterior, apart from a new grille and charging port – with a 12″ touchscreen with Ford’s Sync 4 delivering OTA updates, voice recognition and Nav.

It’ll be 2022 before the E-Transit arrives, and things might change by then, but on the face of it the E-Transit looks a no-brainer. At least once you’ve got past the (inevitably) high price.