A hard day at work? Rigorous tests on the Ford E-Transit electric van simulated hard use throughout its lifecycle. Ford's new all-electric E-Transit was put to the extreme test to prove its readiness for daily work.
Whether it's arranging busy things before a long-awaited vacation, running a big project, or facing a stressful exam week, many of us have experienced a hectic phase in our lives at work, home, or studying. What if you had to do ten years of hard work in twelve weeks?
The new Ford E-Transit, a fully electric version of the world's best-selling van, faced this challenge during a challenging test period. The testing system is designed to simulate the intensive use of customers and its effects on the entire life of the van. As a result, the Ford E-Transit electric van was subjected to rigorous testing so that pre-sales could begin in early 2022.
Ford's new video demonstrates the extreme climate and durability testing that a prototype of the cab models of the E-Transit van and chassis has gone through at Ford's high-tech facilities in Europe and the United States.
During the tests, the Ford E-Transit electric van did challenging winter conditions in Michigan, USA, simulated extreme heat, cold and altitude differences at Ford's environmental test facility in Cologne, Germany, and harsh road surfaces at Lommel Proving Ground in Belgium.
Ford challenged the E-Transit with a rigorous test suite to ensure it is as durable as its diesel-powered sister models. An uncompromising approach can prove the impact of more than 240,000 kilometres of driving and a decade of hard work on customers working in the most challenging conditions.
At the Ford Environmental Testing Facility, conditions from the Sahara to Siberia can be simulated. Engineers hone a fully electric transmission and cab environment for the best performance and efficiency. They exposed the E-Transit to over 40 degrees Celsius (a temperature warmer than your ordinary wastelands) for two weeks, using 28 lamps with 4,000-watt bulbs. The Ford's battery has liquid cooling technology that guarantees optimal performance in extreme weather conditions.
In addition, the van had to show that it could not only operate at -35 degrees Celsius, a climate colder than the typical Siberian winter, but also reach a whole load of 2,500 meters. The height corresponds to the Grossglockner High Alpine Road in Austria, one of the highest paved roads in Europe.
The journey over thousands of bumps, pits and cobblestones was carried out at Ford's Lommel facility by simulating cobblestone streets, rugged roads and other challenging routes worldwide.
The battery pack, electric motor and rear suspension was tested by repeatedly driving the new van through mud and salt baths and salty water jets, simulating winter roads and wading, and testing the corrosion resistance of components. In addition, the reliability of the electric motor was proven by using it continuously for 125 days.
E-Transit's readiness for work will be further tested in extensive customer trials starting later this year in the delivery areas of supermarkets, power plants and difficult areas. These tests will help Ford further enhance the user experience of the E-Transit, which offers productivity-enhancing features such as low-maintenance electric transmission and advanced coupled vehicle technology.
The Ford E-Transit electric van is part of an enormous $ 30 billion investment in electric cars by 2025. The company has announced that its European range of commercial vehicles will be 100% zero-emission, fully electric or rechargeable hybrids by 2024. Two-thirds of commercial vehicles sales are expected to consist of fully electric or rechargeable hybrids by 2030.
"We test all of our vans in conditions that are more challenging than the conditions the vehicles are likely to face in the use of customers. The fully electric E-Transit is no different - by putting the vehicle to the test in our controlled testing environments, we can be sure it will serve our customers reliably as they transition to a fully electric business," said Andrew Mottram, Project Lead Engineer at Ford Europe.
