Ford's van-shaped start to electrifying its New Zealand line up

Wednesday, 6 October 2021

Ford has announced that it will be launching the all-electric E-Transit van in New Zealand in 2022.

Ford New Zealand has announced it will launch seven new electrified vehicles between now and the end of 2024, with the fully-electric E-Transit van arriving next year.

The company says that by the end of 2022 it will offer electrified powertrains (including plug-in hybrids, hybrids and mild hybrids) across “the majority of its passenger and SUV range.”

The key caveat there being that fact that this doesn’t include either Ford New Zealand’s commercial range or its performance range, which are home to some of its best-selling vehicles like the Ranger ute and Mustang.

Ford will launch the all-electric E-Transit van in New Zealand in 2022.

However, the Ranger-based Everest will be the only member of Ford’s local SUV line up that won’t be available in either hybrid or PHEV form, with the Puma mild hybrid and Escape hybrid set to be introduced next year to sit alongside the Escape PHEV.

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According to Ford’s local MD, the Mach-E coming here is a matter of ‘when, not if’.

But what of the electrified Fords that everyone really wants – namely, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning and either a hybrid or fully electric Ranger?

The E-Transit uses the battery pack developed for the Mach-E.

Ford New Zealand managing director Simon Rutherford declined to expand the powertrain possibilities of the new Ranger due here next year, or on just what the other future models might be, saying “It’s going to include a mixture of nameplates you are familiar with, as well as new model names.”

“We’ve been inundated with requests since the announcement (of the F-150 Lightning), but the reality is that we still have to get it produced in right-hand drive in scale,” he said.

The E-Transit gets a huge new 12-inch infotainment touchscreen to go with its high-tech powertrain.

“If we could make the case for RHD, then it could happen. We would probably need a few more RHD markets to join us though.”

Rutherford also pointed out that “when you have a valuable asset, it has to go to the markets where it is in the most demand”, meaning that Ford will be busy building as many Lightnings as it can make for the U.S. market in the foreseeable future, with little regard for a tiny market at the bottom of the country.

With regard to the Mustang Mach-E, which is available in RHD being on sale in the UK, Rutherford had slightly more promising news, saying “It’s exceeding performance everywhere else, so there is a capacity issue.”

“But we keep making our case, as we would love to have it here, and we believe that it would be extremely successful” adding that it was, however, definitely “a question of when, not if.”

But before anything else arrives Ford New Zealand will launch the all-electric E-Transit van to bolster its commercial range in the middle of next year.

The full-size E-Transit will initially be available in rear-wheel drive 420L long wheel-base configuration and pack a usable battery capacity of 68kWh offering an estimated driving range of up to 300km on the combined WLTP cycle.

The E-Transit’s electric motor has a peak output of 198kW and 430Nm of torque, making it by far the most powerful Transit currently available, and it features special drive modes that are tailored to its electric powertrain.

A special Eco Mode can provide between 8 and 10 per cent improvement in energy usage if E-Transit is driven unladen, or at highway speeds and limits top speed, regulates acceleration and optimises climate control to help maximise the available driving range.

The vehicle also supports Scheduled Pre-Conditioning, enabling the climate control system to be programmed to adjust the cabin to the preferred temperature while the vehicle is still on charge.

The E-Transit’s 11.3 kW on-board charger can deliver a 100 per cent charge in around 8.2 hours, while charging with up to 115 kW using a DC fast-charger will take it from 15 per cent to 80 per cent in around 34 minutes.

Because Ford has located the battery underneath the body the E-Transit has the same cargo capacity of the equivalent diesel mid and high-roof Transit 350L, with up to 11.3 and 12.4 cubic metres on offer.

While Ford New Zealand is yet to confirm final payload capacities for the E-Transit, it says the company has gone to great lengths to ensure the EV version can carry roughly the same amounts as the diesel, and it is targetting a gross vehicle mass of up to 4.2 tonnes is offered, with a payload of 1616kg.

Ford says full model specification and pricing details for the E-Transit will be announced closer to its New Zealand market launch, but it will come with an eight-year, 160,000km warranty package for the battery and high-voltage electric components.