Mediaboss Marketing

SONOMA, Calif. Selling vehicles is just the first step in Ford's plans to make money off its first electric delivery van that the automaker is rolling out this month.

Betweenplans to sell 150,000 electric Transit commercial vehicles annually from 2023 onward(after building fewer to sell the first year) and creating "charging depots"to help customers manage their fleets, the companys new Ford Pro group will generate $45 billion by 2025 and more after that, CEO Jim Farley said Tuesday at an elaborate unveiling of the E-Transit and Ford Pros strategy.

"Half our commercial-vehicle revenue could be software and services," Farley said as he announced a pilot program in which the Sonoma County Winegrowers association will test its EVs and services.

Already in production at the companys Kansas City assembly plant, the E-Transit builds on one of Fords hidden assets. Used for everything from delivery vans to flatbeds and farm trucks, the gasoline-powered Transit accounts for nearly half the lucrative business for medium-duty business vans in the U.S. Annual demand for the medium-duty business vans is about 330,000. Last-mile delivery vehicles like UPS and Amazon vans account for just 10% of Transit sales.

Ford Pro is one of the biggest bets weve made on a future of electric vehicles with data connections and other services, Farley said.

The E-Transit and Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup coming later this year are the first vehicles offering the features Ford expects to add 11-digit numbers to its balance sheet.

Ford Pro boss Ted Cannis said the program, called Ford Pro Intelligence, will include:

The system can reduce the time vehicles are out for service 40% and cut a businesss total ownership costs 10%-20%, Cannis said.

Prices start at $43,295. Thats about $9,000-$10,000 more than gasoline-powered models, but the E-Transit qualifies for federal and local tax credits that can offset the additional cost.

The E-Transit shares its basic structure with the internal combustion Transit vans Ford sells around the world. The frame was reinforced to hold the 1,050-pound 68 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery. Despite the heavy battery, total vehicle weight only rose 600 poundsbecause of the elimination of the engine, gas tank, transmission, etc., Transit chief engineer Ray Eyles said.

The electric motor rides between the rear wheels, so the E-Transit has an independent rear suspension. The 9,500-pound gross vehicle weight van has the same cargo capacity as a gasoline Transit, because the battery and motor are below its floor.

Ford is building E-Transit vans with three roof heights, three lengths, in addition to chassis cab and cutaway versions that have a cab, but no body behind it.

The E-Transit van can go about 126 miles on a charge, considerably farther than what Fords research shows most owners currently go in a day.

Because the E-Transit is the same size as the gasoline van Fords been selling for years, businesses can swap tools, racks and other expensive custom parts from the old vans to EVs, saving money and making it easy for companies to dip a toe in the water by testing the EV in a single vehicle, then converting their fleet over time if they like it.

EVs should require much less maintenance than conventional vehicles because they dont have complicated engines and transmissions. That accounts for some of the savings at the heart of Fords pitch to businesses, but the company has big plans for the new services it will offer to help companies run and charge their fleets efficiently, Farley said.

In the pilot program testing both the E-Transit and Ford Pro services with the Sonoma County Winegrowers association,the growers will each get an E-Transit this year. Theyre considering F-150 Lightning electric pickups and may use Ford Pros software with other manufacturers vehicles they use.

Contact Mark Phelan at 313-222-6731 ormmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter.

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Ford predicts it will make $45B from businesses using EV delivery vans, new services - Detroit Free Press