Electric Ford Transit Van Will Be Built in Kansas City, Could Use Existing Gas Chassis
It will debut this Thursday.
Much is known about the 2022 Ford E-Transit—when it's coming, roughly what body configurations will be available, and how it'll charge. But with Ford's platform options ranging from its existing Transit van frames to Volkswagen-supplied unibodies, the platform blank remained unfilled. Until now, that is, because just Ford announced it will build the 2022 E-Transit alongside the fossil-fueled Transit at its Kansas City Assembly Plant, signaling the use of a ladder chassis for the electric Transit.
Ford declared in its release that the E-Transit's production will earmark an extra $100 million in investment for the Kansas plant, which was already in line for $300 million in modernization to build the new F-150. These upgrades will require 150 new hands onsite, all of which will be dedicated to the manufacture of the E-Transit so it can hit United States and Canadian dealers late next year.
Scheduled to be revealed on Nov. 12, the 2022 E-Transit will feature connected vehicle technologies, compatibility with the growing Electrify America network, and much if not all the existing Transit's range of body configurations. Multiple wheelbases, roof heights, and chassis configurations such as cutaway cabs and cargo vans will be on offer, all using the existing Transit architecture as confirmed to The Drive by a Ford spokesperson. This will position the E-Transit favorably against its reported cross-town competitor, which is expected to ride on a unibody platform.
General Motors' "BV1" is said to enter production around the same time as Ford's electric Transit, and is expected to compete for a similar segment of the commercial vehicle market.
The growing recreational van market, however, is practically Ford's to lose. All it needs to do is make the Transit's off-road-ready Adventure Prep Package an option on the E-Transit to be the darling of off-gridders across America.
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