Ford hopes to corner the electric vehicle (EV) market to the same degree as it did with the traditional combustion engine market by announcing a new EV model to boost its market share earlier this week.
Photo: Ford Motor Company
The US-based motor company unveiled its new electric Transit vehicle at a virtual event held on Thursday with a maximum range of 217 miles.
The new model is available in at least 25 different sizes, weights and body variants, including eight different configurations, three lengths and three roof sizes, as well as cutaway, chassis and cargo versions.
Ford claims the new EV covers “roughly three times the distance the average European fleet driver covers daily."
The Transit comes with a battery mounted under the floor with a usable capacity of 67kWh with fast AC and DC charging as well as an on-board charger that can fill the battery within eight hours.
This reveal marks a business-savvy move in the weeks following the Kuga recall in Europe, which caused the automotive giants to recall 20,500 Kuga-based SUVs owing to faulty parts proving to be a fire hazard.
All the models recalled were manufactured between July 2019 and July 2020.
Ford already dominates the US and European markets for traditional combustion engines - powered by gasoline - with shares of 40% and 15%, respectively.
They hope to extend this same market share into the EV market as a part of an $11.2 billion (€9.38 billion) investment in EVs by 2022.
In a phone interview with Reuters shortly before the virtual event, Ted Cannis, the head of Ford's American commercial vehicle business said: “We deserve the same share in EVs that we have in ICE and we think we’re well-positioned to get there."
The new van has a starting price of $45,000 (€38,059), roughly $10,000 more than its petrol-powered version.
According to higher-ups in the company, Ford hopes to roll out 20-25,000 vehicles in North America annually.
Both the e-Transit and Ford's recently announced electric F-150 pickup are set to be available in mid-2022.
Ford's shift to e-vehicles follows a worldwide trend of phasing out traditional fossil fuels in favour of more environmentally-friendly variants to combat climate change.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced some companies to rethink their business models as supply chains were battered by the crisis.
Switching to more renewable sources not only marks a more sustainable business practice but also negates much of the pollution caused by combustion engines.
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