The first Ford E-Transit electric van has driven off the production line in Turkey, with the new all-electric model now ready to be delivered to customers.
Ford Otosan, the name of the company behind the facility in Kocaeli, will now move to full production volume to service the strong early demand from European businesses. Over 5,000 E-Transit vans were placed on order before the first one rolled off the assembly line.
“Ford Otosan’s Kocaeli plant is the heart of Transit production in Europe, and this celebration of E-Transit manufacturing starts the electrified next chapter in our already strong partnership,” said Hans Schep, general manager at Ford Pro Europe.
“This is the first step in a transformation of the Kocaeli site which will see it become a major centre for electric commercial vehicle manufacturing in Europe.”
E-Transit is the all-electric version of the best-selling Ford Transit van and spearheads the launch of Ford Pro in Europe, which offers customers a suite of software, charging, servicing and financing solutions for their vehicles. Ford Pro is intended to help improve productivity and uptime, lower costs, and facilitate access to everything operators need on one platform.
“Production of E-Transit in our Kocaeli plant, where the electricity is supplied with 100% renewable energy, is a source of pride for us and another turning point in our increasing role in Ford’s electrification strategy,” said Güven Özyurt, general manager, Ford Otosan.
“We believe that electrification of the legendary Transit model is a major development and an important step for making Ford Otosan the production base of Ford electrified commercial vehicles.”
To meet future demand for electrified Ford models, Ford Otosan is investing €2 billion and creating around 3,000 more jobs to increase vehicle production capacity, including for the next-generation Transit Custom model.
Ford’s move to an all-electric future in Europe was further highlighted by the recent announcement of a new, industry-leading joint venture in Turkey. The three partners, Ford, SK On and Koç Holding, plan to create one of the largest EV battery facilities in the European wider region. Production is intended to start as early as mid-decade, with an annual capacity likely to be in the range of 30 to 45-gigawatt hours.
Ford will continue to electrify its Transit models to suit different customer requirements and, by 2024, E-Transit will be joined by four more fully-electric models in the Transit family. The increased all-electric range will move Ford toward its target of zero emissions for all vehicle sales in Europe and carbon neutrality across its European footprint of facilities, logistics and suppliers by 2035.
As well as competitive range, payload and power, and a choice of body styles, E-Transit is designed to enable operators’ fleet electrification while accelerating their productivity through Ford Pro’s charging, telematics and servicing solutions. Ford Pro has already proven E-Transit’s durability, with demanding testing in high-tech facilities around the world.
The company is now running a wider programme of customer pilots with a total of 60 pre-production E-Transits, including converted models, operating in typical daily use with customers across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and the UK.
“Ford Transit has defined ‘the Van’ in UK culture for 56 years”, said Mandy Dean, director, Commercial Vehicles, Ford of Britain.
“Now, E-Transit’s market-leading range represents a significant shift forward not only as a vehicle to reduce carbon emissions but as a connected vehicle, equipped with data services that will support SMEs and large businesses alike.”
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