New Ford Transit City electric van on sale now for under £30k

The all-new Ford Transit City has gone on sale in the UK, marking the start of a new era for the blue oval’s ever-popular van. 

Initially, there are just two versions of the Transit City for customers to choose from: the H1 L1 size panel van at £29,421 (excluding VAT) or the H2 L2 panel van at £31,921 (also excluding VAT). A chassis cab, which is a first for a medium-sized Ford van, will be made available later, plus tipper and Luton-style conversions will be offered by existing suppliers.

As its name suggests, the Transit City is designed to fill a specific niche as an urban delivery vehicle with a no-nonsense spec and sufficient range to take on a day’s work around town. Built in conjunction with Ford’s Chinese partner Jianling, the Transit City is based on a unique platform that isn’t shared with any other model in the company’s European line-up, although a Jianling variant is already available in China. 

The Transit City features a 56kWh battery, and while that sounds small, Ford’s range target of around 160 miles should be enough for the kind of users that the company is targeting with its newcomer. According to Ford’s own data, the average daily distance covered by existing electric van users is less than 70 miles, so the Transit City should be more than capable of delivering in that regard. The battery powers an electric motor on the front wheels with 148bhp and 260Nm of torque, meaning the van can go from 0-62mph in 13.7 seconds and top out at 75mph. In accordance with its focus on urban use, the turning circle is a tight 12 metres.

For the L1H1 van, there’s a payload of 1,085kg and floor space for three Euro pallets, while the L2H2 version can carry up to 1,275kg and has a cargo volume of 8.5 cubic metres with three metres of load length on offer. 

Inside, the Transit City’s single trim level keeps things straightforward. It features a 12-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while keyless starting, air-conditioning, a heated driver’s seat, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera are all included. The powertrain offers one-pedal driving for ease of use, while service intervals of two years or 25,000 miles will help to keep maintenance costs down. There’s also an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty on the Transit City’s electrical components.

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Charging speeds are modest, but in keeping with the type of use that the Transit City is designed for. The maximum DC charging rate is only 87kW and averages at 67kW, so a 10-80 per cent charge will take around 33 minutes, while 30 miles of range can be added in about 10 minutes. Most of the time, the van is designed to be charged at the depot, ready for a day’s work. As a result, three-phase 11kW charging is fitted as standard, and this can take the battery from 10-80 per cent in four and a half hours.

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