Ford has sold more than 655,000 of the combustion engine Transit Connect vans worldwide since coming to market in 2003. The size and style of the van, ideally suited to small businesses and fleets, fills a niche.
Perhaps more importantly, the Transit Connect Electric, as a pure electric vehicle, is well suited for commercial fleets that travel predictable, short-range routes with frequent stop-and-go driving in urban and suburban environments and a central location for daily recharging.
To bring the Ford Transit Connect Electric to market, Ford tapped Azure Dynamics Corporation for the 55-kilowatt electric drivetrain system, which uses a sizable 600-pound 28-kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack from Johnson Controls-Saft.
The vehicle has a 75 mile per hour top speed and can drive up to 80 miles on a charge. Ford says its working on increasing this to over 100miles on their next model.
No release date or pricing yet available for Ireland