INDIANAPOLIS—Ford Pro is upgrading the “iconic” E-Transit van with longer range capability and faster charging in celebration of the Transit’s 10th year in the market—where it’s the top-selling commercial van in the U.S. The manufacturer introduced the enhancements in a live-streamed event Tuesday evening at NTEA’s Work Truck Week.
“We’ve been in the EV [electric vehicle] game long enough to have valuable insights, and we’re acting on them,” Tim Baughman, Ford Pro general manager, told the large crowd gathered inside the exhibit hall.
Baughman pointed out Ford has assembled 1.2 million Transit vans over the last 10 years—and 99% of them are still on the road. “It’s a mighty testament of Transit’s quality and durability,” he maintained.
“It’s America’s best-selling commercial van because it’s ‘Built Ford Tough,’ and businesses on every street corner rely on Transit to keep the country moving—from plumbing to carpentry and, yes, delivery, too,” he added in a news release.
Growing demand
The Transit van, produced at Ford’s Kansas City assembly plant in Claycomo, Missouri, was introduced in 2014 and quickly became the best-selling commercial van in the U.S., according to industry-reported data. Ford added the E-Transit electric version and optional all-wheel drive in 2020, and the vehicle continues to grow in popularity, leading Ford to add a third shift in Kansas City to support demand.
“Our sales are up 18% year-over-year,” Baughman said.
The 2024 E-Transit enhancements, which also include new software and integrations, will ease the transition to electric and maximize benefits for commercial customers, Ford said. The range extension boosts the van’s long-distance capabilities for new fleet applications to 159 miles with 89 kWh of usable energy, unlocking new fleet uses, like refrigerated delivery. The additional range over the previous model is an increase of 26% on low-roof models, and up to 32% for high-roof models. And the E-Transit with enhanced range maintains the same 266 horsepower and 317 lb.-ft. of torque as the prior model.
Additionally, new dual onboard motors enable the E-Transit battery to charge faster, with 15 minutes on a DC fast charger (180-plus kW) estimated to add 67 miles of range on a 2024 E-Transit cargo van low-roof configuration—a 49% increase over the prior model, Ford said. And the new model-year E-Transit also will charge from zero to 100% in six hours, 11 minutes with the now available Ford Pro Series 2 80A charging station—22% faster than the prior battery—boosting ease of use and sustainability.
The vehicle already saved customers 3 million gallons of gas, the CO2 equivalent of planning 400,000 trees, in just two years, Baughman added.
Further innovation
“Keep watching us,” he said. “We plan to make a lot of news this year.”
Other updates for 2024 include a new patented vapor injection heat pump for the Ford F-150 Lightning electric work truck that optimizes range for the standard and extended-range models; new telematics, dashcams, and home charging software for the Lightning; and Ford Pro vehicle insurance in five states (Indiana, Arizona, Illinois, Tennessee, and Wisconsin), with more coming this year, Baughman said.
Ford also plans to increase production of its hybrid F-150 this year.
“We’re not standing still,” Baughman concluded.
