First wave of Ford electric vans in transit

The first electric vans in the Ford Transit Connect Electric line have hit the road on their way to customers in North America and Europe. Among the first customers for the vans, which include the Azure Dynamics patented Force Drive battery electric powertrain and Johnson Controls-Saft's advanced lithium-ion battery, are AT&T, Southern California Edison, Xcel Energy, Johnson Controls, New York Power Authority, Canada Post and the Toronto Atmospheric Fund EV300. The Ford-Azure Dynamics collaboration took 13 months to bring the vehicles to market. The first wave of vans was made at a plant in Livonia, Mich., operated by AM General.

The Transit Connect Electric has a driving range of 80 miles. They can be recharged either via a standard 120-volt outlet or with a 240-volt charge station, over a period of six to eight hours. The vehicles are the first in Ford's accelerated electric vehicle roadmap, and they are obviously focused on corporate fleet operators.

The U.K. version of the early deliveries is for the United Kingdom's Ultra-Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator program.