Ford’s E-Transit vans manufactured in Clay County are gaining additional interest from individuals and businesses looking for options.
In a news release last month, FedEx said it’s trying E-Transit vans in its SameDay City network as part of the goal to transition its entire pickup and delivery fleet to zero tailpipe emission vehicles by 2040. SameDay is the company’s local shipping option, which offers door-to-door delivery within hours with real-time notifications.
The vehicles are being tested in nine markets coast-to-coast to assess performance in different road and weather conditions: Chandler, Ariz., Newark, Calif., Boca Raton, Fla., Clearwater, Fla., Plantation, Fla., Chicago, Ill., Madison Heights, Mich., Allen, Texas and Frisco, Texas. The Ford E-Transit has a targeted range of 126 miles on a single charge, making it an ideal vehicle for local courier delivery. FedEx Office has installed charging stations dedicated to these vehicles at each van’s home location and will supplement with remote charging stations in each market as needed to meet charging needs along courier routes.
“The EV market for commercial vehicles now has more options than ever before, enabling FedEx Office to explore different sustainable vehicle technologies to incorporate into our fleet as FedEx works to electrify its entire parcel pickup and delivery fleet by 2040,” said Brian Philips, president and CEO of FedEx Office. “FedEx SameDay City is a perfect use case for testing the capabilities of the Ford E-Transit. With the vehicle’s range and the availability of charging infrastructure, we are excited to see how this vehicle performs in our operation and helps us understand the path forward to scale an electrification strategy for FedEx Office.”
FedEx has set an ambitious goal to achieve global carbon neutral operations by 2040. This goal includes transforming the entire FedEx parcel pickup and delivery fleet to all-electric, zero-tailpipe emissions vehicles by 2040. As part of this transition, FedEx Office is the first to test the Ford E-Transit for FedEx, and it helps FedEx Office better understand how to transition to electric transportation operations.
“We are thrilled FedEx Office selected E-Transit as the test battery electric vehicle for FedEx SameDay City,” said Tim Baughman, general manager Ford Pro North America. “Ford Pro’s advancements in technology and work-ready electric products will help companies like FedEx improve productivity, lower ownership cost and accelerate a carbon emissions free future.”
Ford Motor Co.’s Kansas City Assembly Plant manufactures the Transit van. In 2020, the company announced plans to invest $100 million to the plant to add production of the electric version of the van. The company said the move included the addition of 150 employees at the Claycomo location. This February, Ford announced that it had received 10,000 U.S. orders for the E-Transit, including 1,100 from Walmart.
