The electric commercial van segment is so hot right now. Mercedes-Benz has the smartly appointed eSprinter, Ram has the 282-mile ProMaster EV, and Rivian’s delivery van is no longer an Amazon exclusive. Needless to say, Ford needed to move the needle on the E-Transit to stay competitive, and big upgrades are happening.
Let’s start with the big story — the battery pack. Every updated E-Transit gets a new battery pack with 89 kWh of useable capacity, up from 68 kWh in the 2023 model. That’s a 30 percent increase in capacity, and interestingly, it doesn’t come with an increase in output. Figure 266 horsepower and 317 lb.-ft. of torque, which ought to haul the mail well enough for same-day delivery.
Of course, the big reason for the new battery pack is distance — maximum range climbs to 159 miles from 126, and if Ford’s claim that the average daily range for all Ford commercial vans in America is 74 miles happens to be pin-point accurate, 159 miles should be plenty, even in cold weather.
A bigger battery pack requires faster charging, so Ford’s beefed that up as well. The revised E-Transit boasts 176 kW DC fast charging, a substantial improvement over the 115 kW last year’s E-Transit could manage, and not the only charging improvement. The 2024 model can go from 10 to 80 percent on Level 2 240-volt power in eight hours and 11 minutes, and while that sounds like a long time, it’s 22 percent faster than the old, smaller battery could manage. Shoutout to 80-amp charging. Oh, and speaking of charging, the E-Transit is also compatible with V3 Tesla Superchargers using an NACS to CCS adapter, opening up a range of possibilities for juicing up on the go.
The big question is what does all this extra range and faster charging cost? Well, the updated Ford E-Transit starts at $51,095, which is $1,100 more than the outgoing model but also right about where the old one started at when it launched. That’s a jolly good bargain and one that Ford expects to be made better by a $7,500 Commercial Clean Vehicle Tax Credit for businesses. So, if you’re keen, order books for the updated 2024 Ford E-Transit open this Spring, with deliveries to start later this year.
Oh, and even if you don’t take delivery of an E-Transit, you might receive a delivery that came on an E-Transit. The United States Postal Service is buying 9,250 of them by the end of this year, complete with a special insignia replacing each blue oval. Quiet parcel delivery? What a nice concept.
(Photo credits: Ford)
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I just want to be able to buy the Ford Transit Custom PHEV. But I know that is too much to ask.
This is good and all, but I want to see a Chevy express EV.
A Chevrolet Astro EV would be even better.
Now one of my duties in previous jobs was fleet mgmt. When the Transit first came out its total hauling weight was 850 pounds more or less. That was passengers and cargo. Now did I miss where they beefed it up to handle more weight? Heck EV batteries should eliminate any cargo potential. None of the articles addresses cargo capacity. Kind of important in a cargo van in my opinion.
From the Ford press release on the 2022:
I can’t find the numbers for the 2024, so those numbers may shrink with the larger battery.
Thanks it’s better than I remember but under 4,000 after 2 passengers 2 tons is really crap. I drove 8,000 lbs a day. Might work for flowers.
I think it works for a fair number of use cases, but, yeah, the limitations are pretty significant.
I have worked 10 years ever distribution guy 20 ft box trucks. 4,000 pounds is nothing
This is not a box truck, it is a van.
And it proves my arguments for years there isn’t a EV distribution truck.
Sure, this wouldn’t be good for what you needed, but it could be a great local delivery vehicle or a service vehicle. The company I work for could easily replace some of our pickups with these, though we’d still need some box trucks and a few pickups for other things. (We could also replace a few of our vehicles with golf carts, but that’s another issue.)
The right vehicle for the job doesn’t mean it has to be the right vehicle for every job.
Agreed but government mandates are written to ban the box trucks when nothing Electric is as far as I know not even being worked on
What chemistry is this? LFP?
Wait? USPS is ordering 9250 of them? What is wrong with the truck they just had the competition for that was supposed to be electric and then just, wasn’t? is it a rollout issue? Is this specifically for parcel delivery? Did I misremember the specs on the military contractor provided LLV replacement?
rants without knowledge to beck them up aside, Fleets are a great place for EVs. Even if not every task is handled with the range needed, the beauty of a fleet is that you can still have gas versions for the job that is too far for the EV to reach comfortably.
Well it was a fake bid payoff and the vans were crap so no beuno.
Funny as a newspaper guy letters stack up to wood real quick. Cutting the unions a break
Just give us the hybrid! Please!
This would be ideal… Don’t let the Canadians beat us! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKyYZZTqcRA&t=1574s
It needs AWD and it needs NACS.
Good. Hopefully conversion companies grab these models, and then I can buy a used conversion E-Transit 10 years from now.
Agreed. I can’t wait for quiet(er) trash pickup, myself. All the starts and stops of trash trucks makes them ideal for the next EV transition. Half of the noise they make is squealing brakes every 20 feet — regenerative braking will reduce a lot of that. Much of the other half of the noise is revving the big engine just after each squealing stop — having that be a lot quieter will be nice also.
I used to live in Marin County, CA and they had EV garbage trucks. You still hear the bins getting dumped out, but none of the diesel noise in between. If you’re outside in the morning, the neighborhood will be quiet, with the exception of bins getting picked up and dumped out. It’s pretty nice. Current county isn’t there yet, but I expect they will get there.
E all the things, my neighborhood summer soundtrack is blowers, chainsaws, compressors, semi trucks, etc etc
I bought a battery powered leaf blower and am buying a battery power hedge trimmer shortly. My experience with the leaf blower was enough to convince me that I don’t need a little gas motor to be effective. I did landscaping in college and I’m fine with the battery powered stuff. It’s certainly easier on my ears, lungs and budget.
My mower, weedeater, leaf blower, and my hedge trimmer are all electric. I wish I’d gone battery with my mower, but I have a small enough yard for plug-in. It’s much nicer than when I used gas versions.
I got the “quiet” Ryobi blower a couple years ago. It’s not silent, but it’s quiet enough that you can’t really hear it from inside the house. No ear protection needed.