TRANSIT CONNECT ELECTRIC VANS GO RALLYING

Filed under Ford Transit Connect, Ford Vans by fordtransit on August 1, 2011 at 6:44 pm {no comments}

Tansit connect electric in rallyNot your typical rally – nor your typical rally vehicle. Oxford to London – in a Ford Connect van – and electric Connect no less. The rally was made up of ‘green’ vehicles – hybrids and electrics amongst them coering the 75 mile course in the 2011 Bridgestone Eco Rally.

The rally took place on Sunday 31st July, this year starting from Broad Street, Oxford and finishing in the UK’s largest sustainable transport exhibition at The Mall in London.

The convoy comprised more than 30 of the latest low and zero emission vehicles including cars, motorbikes, vans, trucks and taxis.

Graham Hoare, executive director powertrain engineering, Ford of Europe, said: “Ford is developing a portfolio of electric vehicles that offer customers affordable, environmentally friendly technologies in vehicles they want and value. The Bridgestone Eco-Rally is a great opportunity to showcase the first of these vehicles to go on sale, the Transit Connect Electric.”

The Transit Connect Electric, developed in conjunction with Ford’s electric vehicles partner, Azure Dynamics, is the first of five electrified Ford models to be made available in Europe. It is a pure electric-powered version of the award-winning Transit Connect light commercial vehicle. It has a proprietary Force Drive™ battery electric drivetrain powered by an advanced battery pack from Johnson Controls, carrying a range of up to 80 miles with a payload of up to 500kg.

Ford has committed to introduce five full-electric and hybrid models in Europe by 2013 as part of its global electrification strategy. These include the Transit Connect Electric this year, the next generation Ford Focus Electric in 2012, followed by hybrid and plug-in hybrid derivatives of the all-new C-MAX and another hybrid-electric model in 2013.

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New Ford Transit Connect Electric Charging Scheme

Filed under Ford Transit Connect, Ford Vans by fordtransit on July 6, 2011 at 2:02 pm {no comments}

Norman Baker MP plugs in Ford Transit Connect ElectricThe Transport Minister, Norman Baker MP, today opened a new solar assisted electric vehicle charging facility at the Centre of Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence (CEME) in Rainham, East London.  Ford Transit Connect Electric vehicles were the first users of the facility, known as eTap, installed by Essex-based company Use The Sun Ltd.

Boosted vehicle range

Users of electric vehicles who visit CEME will now be able to charge their vehicles on site.  The driving range of current generation pure electric vehicles is significantly lower than petrol- or diesel-engined vehicles and the wider availability of charging points of this sort provides an opportunity to boost an electric vehicle’s range.

The eTap provides a mix of solar and mains electric power to charge up to six electric vehicles.  It has 45 solar panels, which provide electricity to a central distribution point where it is routed to the car chargers with excess demand being met through the national grid.  Users in general will pay for charging by phone, similar to many car parks, on an hourly basis with the charging stopped after the paid-for period.

Transit Connect Electric

The Transit Connect Electric, on sale now, is Ford’s first electric vehicle to be made available in Europe.  Five electrified Ford vehicles, including a Ford Focus Electric, Ford C-MAX Hybrid and the Ford C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid, will be introduced in Europe and North America by 2013 as part of Ford’s electric vehicle programme.

The Transit Connect Electric was developed in conjunction with Ford’s electric vehicle partner Azure Dynamics and it has a proprietary Force Drive™ battery electric drive train powered by an advanced battery pack from Johnson Controls.

With 28kWh of power to call on, Transit Connect Electric can carry a load of 500kg and has a range of up to 80 miles. Its lithium-ion battery pack is charged with a standard power outlet. Fully charging the batteries using standard European 230-volt outlets can be completed in approximately eight hours.

A fleet of Transit Connect Electric vehicles is taking part in the “Ultra-Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator” (ULCVD) programme.Based in the London Borough of Hillingdon, a consortium of Ford, Scottish and Southern Energy and the University of Strathclyde has been providing Transit Connect Electric vans and a charging infrastructure for the ULCVD since 2010.  The demonstration fleet is being created partly with public funding from the UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB), which promotes innovative industry-led projects that reduce CO2.

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High Mileage Transit Connect at CV Show

Filed under Ford Transit Connect by fordtransit on April 2, 2011 at 9:36 pm {no comments}

It’s not just new vans on Ford’s CV Show stand (Hall 4, stand 4C20) this year, there’s also a 2003 Ford Transit Connect with 220,000 miles on the clock.High mileage Transit connect

Aside from the monster mileage, this Ford Transit Connect is almost entirely original. Apart from following the regular servicing schedule, the biggest item that’s been changed in the eight-year life of the Connect T200 1.8 TDCi has been the alternator.

The van is still in regular use by Deeside engineering firm DRB Power Transmission Ltd. “DRB has always bought Ford vehicles,” says transport manager Richard Wheatley. “We have tried other marques but they’ve never come up to the same standards. When the Ford Transit Connect came out it was ideal – the right capacity for the loads we carry, sturdy and also the right size for getting into the tighter places we work in.”

The company uses Ford Transit Connect models either for permanent allocation to a single engineer for site visits or as a pool vehicle for use by fitters and welders.

All are serviced by M53 Ford at Birkenhead and Ellesmere Port. “The service the dealerships give us is second to none,” says Richard. “They follow the regular service schedule but also look for other required work – they go one step further. It may sound more expensive if they’re finding extra fixes, but it means the van is only off the road once which in the long run saves us time and money.”

The Connect ‘hero’ on the stand isn’t a one-off either. “We aim to keep the vans for about 200,000 miles each, but we have got a few vans with higher mileage,” says Richard.

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