Ford Targets Commercial Segment with Transit Connect EV

To its credit, Ford isn’t taking advantage of any governmental handouts as it struggles to deal with the most dramatic sales decline in the company’s history, and one, of course, that it’s hardly alone in battling. It therefore didn’t need to make environmental promises to the assembled watchdog organization to comply with the associated rules, but rules or no rules Dearborn understands its market and is complying with the needs and wants of would-be buyers by introducing its first all electric commercial vehicle since the 1998–2002 Ranger EV.

Unlike recent all-electric announcements from Chrysler, the electric smart car, fully juiced Mini, the upcoming Toyota iQ-based EV, and a host of other all-electrics either “coming soon” or already on the market, Ford is targeting the light commercial delivery segment, where vehicles area often driven all day rather than just to and from work.  And the vehicle Ford has announced isn’t just a running prototype with hopes to be produced “one day”, but a real production model scheduled to arrive in North America next year.

The Ford Transit Connect would be ideal for light delivery even without the electric powertrain, and to that end Dearborn will be offering this European designed hauler in North America with a conventional gasoline-powered drivetrain too, but it’s the electric Transit that is getting most of the buzz. Let’s face it, when Ford updates its E-150 cargo van every four years or so it doesn’t exactly snatch headlines. In fact, most people don’t pay much attention to what brand is behind the delivery van that brings them their courier envelope or that beautiful bouquet of flowers.

The Transit Connect gets attention for two reasons. First, because it’s a European vehicle that Ford’s domestic executive team and product planners have deemed ideal for a changing US marketplace (smart thinking and a sign that Alan Mulally’s talk about acting globally to save development costs is actually coming to fruition) and secondly because of its green attributes.

While commercial applications might be more important for the environment and overall cost savings than personal use, Ford will nevertheless expand its electric offerings to include a new small EV car the following year, in 2011. Whether it will be an adaptation of the much anticipated Fiesta subcompact or something altogether new, is unknown outside of Ford’s inner circle, but they’ll be in the consumer game soon enough.

In 2012 we can expect the next generation of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which should at least include updated Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids, plus the all-new Fusion Hybrid. Ford will most likely adapt its hybrid technology to other models, or possibly follow the lead of Toyota and Honda by bringing a totally unique hybrid to the market. Oddly, while being the third hybrid maker in the automotive business, with its Escape Hybrid, and the first to offer the technology in an SUV, Ford hasn’t capitalized on the development costs of the technology by offering it in more models. GM, which was slower to get into the HEV game, now rivals Toyota for the sheer number of hybrid models it offers. In hindsight, with the Prius clearly dominating HEV sales and the new Honda Insight looking like it could eat up a significant margin of  what’s left, Ford’s decision to play conservatively in the green game might prove wise. A plug-in hybrid scheduled for 2012, should be even thriftier and therefore more tempting to those looking to go green and/or save money at the pump.

The Transit EV, easily the most important offering Ford will bring to the North American market of those mentioned due to its environmental impact, will offer car-like driving dynamics despite its 1,760-lb payload capacity.