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Ford is making sure the new E-Transit electric van will be up to the job when it arrives in 2022 with a series of tough torture tests
Ford is completing a series of ‘torture tests’ for the new all-electric E-Transit van ahead of going on sale in early 2022.
The new Ford E-Transit, which is set to make its UK debut at the CV Show this coming August, is part of the company’s drive for 2 in 3 new commercial vehicle sales to be electrified by 2030.
Ford says the torture test regime is exactly the same as the one regular diesel-engine Transits have to pass – and is able to simulate 150,000 miles or 10 years’ intensive hard work in just 12 weeks.
Trials include assessing functionality at -35deg Celsius, and making a fully-laden climb to 2,500 metres above sea level.
Ford has also heated up the E-Transit to over 40 degrees Celsius – hotter than most deserts – using a series of 4,000-watt bulbs, to prove the liquid-cooled battery tech (and cabin air con) is efficient.
The company is repeatedly driving the E-Transit through mud and salt baths, down brutally-paved roads, and has run the electric motor continuously for 125 days to prove its reliability.
“We test all our vans in conditions above and beyond anything they are likely to face in the hands of customers”, said Andrew Mottram, E-Transit chief programme engineer.
“The all-electric E-Transit is no different – by pushing it to the limit in our controlled test environments, we can be confident that it will reliably serve our customers as they switch to all-electric power for their businesses.”
The next step in rolling out the E-Transit EV van will be customer trials later in the year with supermarkets, utility and last mile delivery companies.
The firm says these trials will help it further hone the experience of using a fully-electric transit in day-to-day life, ahead of deliveries beginning in 2022.