German government buys electric Ford Transits
Monday 22 February 2010 Back to Blog
Electric vans could be one-step closer to appearing on the van contract hire market following the purchase of ten electric Ford transits from a British company.
The Edison vans, converted to run on electricity by Smith Electric Vehicles will form part of the German government's target of getting one million electric vehicles on its roads by 2020.
As the first phase, the vans will be used to test the impact of vehicle's on the road in Cologne.
Success could see the adoption of electric vans become more widespread across Europe, including the UK.
Ford Europe is acting as a partner in the project and will oversee the delivery and maintenance of the vehicles.
The £500,000 deal will see seven of the vans go to delivery companies, two to minibus firms and one for municipal use.
Using lithium-ion batteries, the vehicles have a range of up to 100 miles on a full charge with a top speed of 50mph.
Ford's own electric version of its Transit connect was recently unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show.