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Ford E-Transit Unveiled As All-Electric Rival To Chevy Express, GMC Savana

General Motors’ crosstown rival, Ford Motor Company, has unveiled the new 2022 Ford E-Transit, an all-electric rival to the Chevy Express and GMC Savana.

Ford’s new all-electric van is designed to offer the same interior cargo dimensions and standard mounting points as the gas-powered Ford Transit, which means upfitters and modifiers can apply the same treatments to the Ford E-Transit. Customers will have up to 487.3 cubic feet of cargo room on high-roof, extended wheelbase variants

Providing the motivation is an electric motor producing 266 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. Juicing the batteries is the option for both AC and DC fast charging. Plugged into a 115-plus-kW DC fast charging station, the Ford E-Transit will collect 30 miles of range in 10 minutes, and 45 miles in 15 minutes.

Range-per-charge is rated at 126 miles for the low-roof cargo van variant. “E-Transit is a smart workhorse for North American cities designed with insight from 30 million miles of customer telematics data to deliver the right amount of range based on fleet needs,” Ford states.

The Ford E-Transit also comes with Pro Power Onboard, which can be used to turn the van into a mobile generator to do things like recharge tools on the worksite.

Inside, there’s a standard 12-inch touchscreen, plus standard Ford Co-Pilot360 technologies. SYNC 4 technology is also standard, providing fleet managers with things like charging transactions, telematics services, and the like.

The Ford E-Transit will be offered in eight unique configurations, including three roof heights and three lengths, as well as both cutaway and chassis cab models. Maximum payload is rated at 3,800 pounds, which bumps up to 4,290 pounds for cutaway models.

The 2022 Ford E-Transit ill launch late in the 2021 calendar year, with pricing start under $45,000.

General Motors has plans for a battery-electric work van of its own, as GM Authority has reported previously. The new GM electric van will be built at the Factory Zero production facility in Michigan, previously known as Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, and will ride on GM’s BEV3 electric vehicle platform, with the automaker’s Ultium lithium-ion battery technology providing the juice.

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This post was created in collaboration with our sister publication, Ford Authority.

Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Comments

  1. If I’m reading this correctly, 126 miles of range seems pretty skimpy. Given the dimensions of a a Transit and packaging ability, I would have expected 250 miles of range with an expanded battery pack. Is Ford planning to offer extended range packages at addl. cost?

    Reply
    1. I assume that’s the range with maximum payload, but either way it would be enough imo, as we all know these type of vehicles mainly use for local deliveries, and that range would be enough to get to the end of the work day. The commercial vehicles usually spend the night at company garage/parking lot so it would be not a problem juiced them up sip by sip via standard level 1 charging until the start of next business day and the cheap night time electricity rates would be the icing.

      As i stated these type of light commercial vehicles, delivery vans, box trucks etc. are perfectly suitable for EV transition due to not needing 200+ ranges , so i don’t understand why pure EV brands like Tesla or traditionally car makers didn’t start their EV game with them until they crack the range limitations. It’s not like LCV segment not bringing money, it’s the exact opposite it’s extremely profitable, such that Ford has been completely leaned on it through this hard times.

      Reply
      1. I believe that the 126 MPC (Miles Per Charge) is the bare minimum simply because different companies in different cities can travel between 25 to 40 miles in one direction from the office to the jobsite or delivery address. If you also take into consideration the option to provide power to some jobsite equipment during a day’s work along with possible traffic congestion, then you can get yourself into a very problematic situation. You must always anticipate the unexpected.

        GM, in my opinion, has always had a history of putting out products that leave the competition scratching their heads in frustration. Sooo…..why then is it taking them SO LONG to develop an up-to-date completely remodeled version of the Chevy Express and GMC Savanna to really compete against the Mercedes Sprinter, Ford Transit, and the Dodge Ram vans that consumers (especially businesses) will want so much that GM will barely be able to keep them in stock?

        Reply
        1. “Sooo…..why then is it taking them SO LONG to develop an up-to-date completely remodeled version of the Chevy Express and GMC Savanna to really compete ”

          Easy enough as the owners of the current Express and Savanna vans can upgrade them to a budget friendly “Electric Connect and Cruise package”, a proven and dependable package!

          And this just in, frdauthority fans want to see more GM news so they don’t need to visit GMA to see what their favorite brand is up against (why so little comments their I wonder?).

          And No, the Hummer EV is not meant to be an F-150 Raptor competitor! LMFAO!!!

          Reply
          1. Hey Fastyle, LET’S BE CLEAR…….I am GM fanatic through-and-through, but I’m just waiting for them to change the body design on their vans. No One can beat GM’s dependability and innovative technology, but they just need to get rid of that boxy design from the early 2000s.

            Reply
    2. Ford studied their present Transit customers and analyzed their travels, finding that almost all Transit vans travel less than 100 miles in a day. So the 126 mile range covers all these needs. Ford is testing a plug-in hybrid Transit in Europe (you can search more on the Web for it), which will comply for those customers who need longer range and can sacrifice some economy.

      Reply
      1. I don’t live in Paris, London or metro NYC.
        I live and work and make spending money in rural North America. If GMC made an 250-300 mile EV of the Cargo Express, I’d trade in my current ICE Ford Transits.

        Reply
  2. I agree, the way it reads they sure won’t go very far. Most local, city commercial vans go farther I’d guess. Maybe something was left out?

    Reply
  3. 2022? Current generation vehicle in the pictures will be 8 years old then, why they don’t introduce EV tech with next gen model?

    Reply
    1. The electric Transit is a new generation model, having added technology that does not exits on present models. Visit Ford’s Transit page and see for yourself.

      Reply
  4. The Ford Transit line is the world’s most bought medium cargo van, so Ford already has a lead with their present customers who may be switching over from gas to electric. There is a plug-in hybrid Transit model being tested in Europe, which is better for longer range needs

    As for new customers, DHL is the first major carrier to order the electric versions. I hope the USPS, and other carriers will do the same. I doubt GM can ever catch up.

    Reply
    1. @Raymond Ramirez. You must understand that the whole world of automobile manufacturing is inevitably headed towards Electric Vehicles (EV). With that being said, it’s not always about who’s first, but rather who makes a better, more dependable, and low maintenance vehicle. Don’t be deceived. Anyone can be overcome as long as they’re in the race (history proves this with the rise and fall of kingdoms also). The trophy seldom goes to the one that’s got a good beginning. It usually goes to the one who maintains to the finish. Remember……..the Championship isn’t given in the 3rd Quarter or the 7th Inning.

      Reply
  5. GM will reportedly have their electric van out in 2021 (about the same as Ford). If they continue with a gas van (I assume they will) it should be announced at the same time.)

    I hope they retain the good clearance and ladder on frame suspension and add 4wd.

    GM is behind but I think they can catch up if they build a good and reliable van.

    Reply

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