Ford has released its first electric vehicle, the Transit Connect. This particular model won’t compete with the Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt—that’ll be next year’s Focus Electric—but it will hopefully make a change in the way American companies make deliveries.
The Transit Connect is a van already being used by AT&T, the Canada Post, Southern California Edison, and the New York Power Authority. By ramping up production this spring, Ford intends to produce 600-700 Transit Connect vans this year.
Ford started with this model because it could be developed quickly—development only began 13 months ago—and because it offered them a chance to test their electric technology before entering the competitive field of electric cars.
Sherif Marakby, director for electrification programs and engineering at Ford, believes the vehicle lends itself to the delivery business because of the industries clearly defined routes and travel distances. The van can go about 80 miles on a 28 kilowatt-hour battery that can be recharged in six to eight hours which also meets the time demands of most delivery operations.
Cost-wise, the Transit Connect will run you $57,400, or twice that of a traditional van. Ford believes the buyer would recoup the additional costs over the life of the vehicle (six to ten years). (Breaking even in fields of new technology is an encouraging mark of progress.)
The Transit Connect is built in Turkey without an engine and shipped to Michigan where A.M General—who builds humvees—installs the electric drive components.
Mercedes-Benz will produce line of electric vans in Europe in 2010. Nissan won’t release its’ version until 2013.
