Ford has announced it is about to set the cat among the pigeons when it comes to battery electric powered cargo vans with the news that it will launch a new pure battery electric one tonne van on our market for a gamer changing, drive-away price of just $50,000.
That number is critical in Ford’s strategy because it basically delivers a zero emission EV goods van for less than the price of most internal combustion engine alternatives, including Ford’s own conventional ICE powered Transit, which is about $7000 dearer. It is similarly well priced against the likes of Kia’s new electric PV5 Cargo which is quoted at an rrp of $56,990 plus on roads, while LDV’s eDeliver7 is also around $5000 more plus on roads, depending on the model and pricing.
The secret behind how Ford has been able to come up with such a proposition for the Transit City is that the Blue Oval has decided that to beat the opposition it had to join them, with the new EV van being sourced from Ford’s partner company in China, JMC. Ford holds a 33 per cent share in JMC, which is likely to become the source of other budget priced Ford product in times to come, including a super hybrid version of the company’s star off road name plate, the Bronco, but more of that later.
Ford is spruiking the 60 year heritage of its Transit name plate, and says that this fully electric Transit City, represents the latest evolution in its commercial vehicle heritage, and that the Transit City takes a “focused, engineering-led approach” to enable it to bring Australian fleets the chance to economically transition to “zero-tailpipe-emission transport”.
Ford is emphasising that the EV powered Transit City has been designed specifically for dense metropolitan environments.
In an interesting, and we think rather compelling strategy, Ford has bypassed a lengthy list of options with the Transit City in favour of delivering a single, pretty well-equipped standard spec electric van, which the company says has been designed to reduce ordering complexity, minimise operational downtime, and as a result it has helped it drive down the cost of ownership for commercial operators. interested in switching to an EV.
The Transit City offers a 6.4 cubic metre load area in the back, with a maximum payload capacity of 1085kg, almost equalling the same as the dearer LDV eDeliver 5 which boasts a 6.6 cubic metre load area and a 1200kg payload.
Ford says that the Transit City can fit three Euro Pallets in its rear load area, however in Australia our pallets are wider and shorter. A Euro pallet measures 1200 x 800 mm, making it narrower and longer, matching standard European logistics rules. However standard Aussie pallets are 
square and measure 1165 x 1165 mm, to fit local transport and racking systems. That is probably a minor headache for a light van such as this with most loads being less palletised and more dependant on variable packages and units.
However load is sometimes secondary in an EV, compared with the vexed question of range. Ford is telling us that the Transit City’s powertrain will delivers up to 254 km of WLTP combined range and up to 380 km of WLTP city range. That seems to be pretty competitive with the main opposition, including the LDV, which is claiming a combined 335km WLTP range for its eDeliver 5 short wheelbase. Of course WLTP, or Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure, to give it its proper nomenclature, is a static laboratory test figure and real world reality can sometimes be very different from these numbers. Our experience with EVs tells us that around town, in stop start traffic, and at lower overall speeds the range can comes close to meeting those figures, but sit on a motorway at a constant 100km/h and the range can dwindle somewhat. That is probably why Ford is emphasising that this is a Transit City, targeting the van’s natural environment, urban delivery rounds.
At the all bells and whistles media event Ford invited us to in Melbourne last week its engineering team was at pains to explain the rationale it used to determine the ideal battery capacity.
They say that the engineers analysed extensive telematics data from more than 2,000 ICE powered Transit Customs operating in real-world conditions and that it found that the typical urban daily trips average 76km, with 90 per cent of daily routes requiring 200 km or less range.
Using these global insights, Ford said that it has engineered the Transit City with a 56kWh Lithium-Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery, which is paired with a 110kW front-wheel-drive e-motor.
The company reckons that LFP chemistry was chosen for its superior thermal durability, long cycle life, and resistance to degradation under frequent DC charging (when compared to other common EV battery types).
On the subject of the other vexed EV question, charging and recharging time, the company said that it has “Right-sized” the battery to allows operators to minimise downtime at the charging plug and reckons that the Transit City can be recharged from 10 per cent battery power to 80 per cent in approximately 33 minutes on a fast 87kW DC charger, or about 68 km in 10 minutes according to Ford.
On an 11kW AC charger it can be taken from 10 per cent charge to 100 per cent in about 5.5 hours, or a typical overnight charge.
The time for a DC charge is workable and the sort of time an operator can use during a midday lunch break, so as long as there is a fast DC charger installed at home base or there is a fast public charger available that recharge time is easily achievable.
The company also claims its chassis engineers have also worked on fine-
tuned the one-pedal driving calibration to maximise battery regen during normal city operating conditions.
Ford said and made a point of emphasising that the Transit City has been tailored for narrow city streets, laneways, and tight loading area, and they have given it a the compact footprint.
Ford Australia boss Fadi Mawal, who is president and CEO of Ford Australia and NZ, says the Transit City represents a new way of thinking about commercial vehicles for Australian and Kiwi businesses.
“We know urban operators need a van that’s affordable, capable, and ready to work from day one, and that’s exactly what Transit City delivers,” said Mawal
Ford claims that to ensure high-levels of durability straight out of the box, Transit City comes equipped with heavy-duty commercial protection as standard, including a full load liner in the cargo area, as well as half-height protective interior coating, an array of robust tie-down lashing points andn of course what it is describing as its data-driven battery and powertrain strategy.
Of course unlike its ICE powered sibling the Transit Custom, as well as its conventionally powered opponent vans in the light commercial market, the EV powertrain eliminates traditional internal combustion components like turbos, fuel injection systems, and multi-speed gearboxes, and Ford points out that this means that it needs less scheduled maintenance, and it says that this drops service costs significantly compared to equivalent diesel vans.
Ford reckons that this is in part thanks to the projected one year or 30,000 km, whichever occurs first, service intervals, but also because. there are simply less moving parts in an EV powertrain.
The company points out that urban delivery drivers can sometimes enter and exit the vehicle more than 200 times per shift and that its engineers have built Transit City around the daily physical demands of such workloads.
As a result the Transit City is fitted with a high-efficiency heated driver’s seat, which Ford claims saves battery power on its own compared to cabin-wide heating.
It also features a keyless push button start as well as in-cab connectivity, which is managed through its 12.3-inch central touchscreen, that features both wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration.
Naturally, the latest suite of electronic safety and driving aids is fitted with Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) include as standard with Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), Front and Rear Parking Sensors, Rear-View Camera with Dynamic Guidelines, Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop and Go and Lane Departure Warning.
Ford claims that in developing the Transit City it subjected it to the company’s global testing regime, which it says has been designed to simulate 10 years of severe commercial abuse, including more than 200,000 door-slam cycles in extreme climate chambers, to ensure commercial durability.
“The shift to electric doesn’t have to be complicated. Transit City gives businesses a straightforward, well-equipped van that’s ready to work, and the total cost of ownership makes a compelling case for fleets looking to make the switch,” concluded Mawal.
Ford says that Transit City will be available at that impressive recommended drive-away price of $50,000 in Australia, with first customer deliveries expected to commence from November.
Ford also revealed that a second electrified vehicle line will be sourced from its Chinese partner JMC next year with the announcement that its first-ever electrified Bronco SUV variant, the Bronco Basecamp, is heading here in the second half of 2027.
The company reckons the Bronco Basecamp uses, what it describes as a super-hybrid powertrain. This means that its power system uses dual electric motors, which are powered by a 49kWh battery. But the game changer is the off roader’s 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine that does not actually supply direct drive to the wheels. The ICE power unit acts solely as an on-board range extender, recharging the vehicles battery system and delivering the sort of range people headed into the Australian bush look for. What this means is that the setup delivers the torque and responsive performance we have come to expect from electric vehicles, but gives the Bronco Basecamp an estimated driving range of between 800- 900km.
Interestingly Ford claims that when parked, the Bronco transforms into an off-grid power station, boasting up to a maximum of 6.6kW of Pro Power Onboard. That means that at a campsite off grid owners will be able to easily run induction cooktops, coffee machines, high-end photography gear, camp lights, and laptop setups directly from the vehicle’s battery.
Ford Australia’s marketing director, Ambrose Henderson said that when the company looked at how Australians spend their time outdoors, the national parks, the coastal trails, and the distances they travel, that the fit was immediate.
“Outdoor life here isn’t a trend, it’s just life and the Bronco Basecamp was almost purpose-built for these customers,” said Henderson.
Let’s be clear this Bronco is uniquely produced by JMC in China and is not an electrified or hybrid version of the Australian engineered Ranger or Everest, as the US built and sold Bronco is.
Bronco is a storied and famed Ford name plate that also is about 60 years old, and back in the day Ford Australia sold second generation versions of the model locally, with the F100 based short wheel base off roader in the 1970s, finding a bit of a cult following in this country.
The Bronco nameplate was reborn in the US a few years ago with the new version based on the Australian designed and engineered Ranger. Ford Australia has resisted calls to bring the acclaimed off roader here since its launch in the US.
Bronco Basecamp certainly gives Ford an interesting product to fill a niche in the off roader market that is currently being catered for by the likes of BYD with its Shark hybrid pick up, GWM’s Tank hybrids and also Denzer models from China among others
Again it is a case of the Blue Oval drawing a line in the sand and deciding to attack the growing Chinese armada of electric vehicles with exactly that, a Chinese built low emission off roader.
Details of the Bronco Basecamp’s specs were brief at the launch and the vehicle is not expected here till the middle of next year. Ford showed us the prototype Bronco on display at the media event, is currently in a test program at the company’s You Yangs proving ground near Geelong. In fact Ford engineers reckoned that the car had literally been ‘hosed down’ and detailed in time to be put on display at the launch, and reckoned that it was headed back to the proving ground as soon as the launch event was finished.
We look forward to more details and even more to driving the Basecamp and the Transit City as Ford rolls out its Chinese built EV future in Oz.
