Ford Pro Productivity Takes Centre Stage at IAA TRANSPORTATION 2024

Sep 16, 2024
4 MIN READ
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    A productive, electrified vehicle line-up
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HANOVER, Germany – Ford Pro is underlining its European market leadership and commitment to electrification with a fully-electrified range of vehicles and connected services on show at IAA TRANSPORTATION 2024 in Hanover, Germany, September 17-22.

The comprehensive Ford Pro range of battery electric and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles on display includes the E‑Transit Courier  compact van, which is now open for orders. Visitors to the Ford Pro stand can also see the high-productivity electrified Transit family including the best-selling  E‑Transit, which now offers an enhanced range option,  as well as the all-new E‑Transit Custom  and the all-new Transit Connect PHEV.  Ford Pro is also marking the global public debut of the all-new Ranger PHEV  at IAA TRANSPORTATION 2024.

Ford Pro customers are already experiencing the benefits of real-time data and connected services. The FORDLiive connected uptime system’s “power walls” and Liive Agents –the nerve centre of productivity – are on display within a working Liive Centre on the Ford Pro show stand.

New enhancements to Ford Pro’s suite of integrated solutions include a new digital logbook feature in the Ford Pro Telematics 8 software that helps customers keep track of personal and business mileage for accurate reimbursement and reporting.

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    IAA TRANSPORTATION 2024
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“Every day, Ford Pro is proving to customers that connected vehicle data can boost uptime and productivity, point them to the right electrification solutions for their businesses, and help make the switch as simple as possible. Combined with a range of award-winning and best-selling vehicles, Ford Pro is the laying the foundations for a whole new level of productivity,” said Hans Schep, general manager, Ford Pro, Europe.

Ford Pro continues to go from strength to strength while delivering for its customers: software subscriptions increased 35 per cent globally in the second quarter of 2024. In Europe alone, Ford Pro has over 95,000 paid software subscriptions and commercial vehicles sales increased 10 per cent in the first half of 2024 year-on-year.

Ford Pro’s comprehensive renewal of the Transit family of vans means there is now an electric or plug-in hybrid powertrain option for every model. Attendees at IAA TRANSPORTATION 2024 can visit the Ford Pro stand to see the full line-up, including several European public debuts:

  • E-Transit Courier. Following the launch of the all-new Transit Courier compact van earlier in 2024, Ford Pro is announcing that the electric E-Transit Courier is now available to order. With a confirmed useable battery capacity of 43 kWh, the electric van offers up to 300 km of driving range, a 700 kg payload  and 25 per cent more load space than the previous-generation Transit Courier. A 10-80 per cent charge takes around 23 minutes with the standard 100 kW DC charger. Production of the vehicle is scheduled to start in late 2024, with customer deliveries in 2025.
  • E-Transit. Already Europe’s best-selling two-tonne EV van, the E-Transit is set to support even more customers with a new, 89 kWh enhanced-range version. A standard heat pump, faster charging and up to 402 km of driving range  will better serve businesses with longer routes or higher power needs, such as refrigerated grocery delivery. Order books for the enhanced-range model will open in October, with production commencing in early 2025.
  • E-Transit Custom. The lifeblood of businesses worth over €1 trillion to the EU and UK, the EV version of Europe’s best-selling one-tonne van is now in volume production at Ford Otosan’s “plant of the future” with the first customer deliveries now taking place in selected European markets. The Transit Custom PHEV  model is also in full production for customers with operations better suited to a hybrid powertrain option.
  • Transit Connect PHEV. With customer deliveries of the all-new Transit Connect van now under way, the plug-in hybrid powertrain model makes its European public debut at IAA TRANSPORTATION 2024. A highly competitive 118 km EV-only range further supports lower operating costs. Customers can also benefit from a new FlexCab crew-or-cargo body style and DC charging at up to 40 kW for a 5-80 per cent charge in around 26 minutes. The plug-in hybrid model is now in production, and the first examples will reach customers later this autumn. 

In addition to the latest models in the electrified, connected Transit van family, Ford Pro is also marking the global public debut of the all-new Ranger PHEV at IAA TRANSPORTATION 2024.

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Ford Liive Wall

Ford Pro’s broad range of electrified vans helps simplify electrification at the right pace for each customer, to suit businesses of all types and sizes. Ford Pro further helps to reduce cost of ownership and optimise productivity with supporting services including a new Logbook feature in the Ford Pro Telematics software to help businesses label personal and work mileage for easier record-keeping. The time-saving feature helps to ensure correct reimbursement of fuel and electricity costs, reduces paperwork and supports fleet compliance.

Businesses where the van owner is also the driver and accountant will benefit from Logbook simplifying administration during tax return season. Larger firms with drivers who park their work van at home between shifts can use the feature to only reimburse charging for work driving, and can track whether the driver and van were “on the clock” or not in the event of in-cab coaching alerts or an accident.

Owners can receive vehicle health alerts through Ford Pro Telematics or the FordPass smartphone app as part of the FORDLiive connected uptime system. When combined with Mobile Servicing and FORDLiive Centres, these can be powerful tools to keep vehicles at work. One nationwide fleet in the UK reported slashing downtime in some cases from three days to just two hours for the same tasks. A recent report by leading vehicle leasing firm ALD Automotive | Lease Plan UK  found FORDLiive helped to save customers an average of more than €1,300 per downtime event in 2023.

Other innovative Ford Pro software solutions include E-Switch Assist, a free online tool to quickly show customers the EV-readiness of their fleet. If the customer is already connected to the Ford Pro ecosystem, E-Switch Assist can use their driving data to provide more detailed vehicle-by-vehicle results, including daily charging needs. Ford Pro Charging offers a bespoke depot charging solution that can help operators realise significant savings. One customer reported operating costs of €18-20/100 km for diesel vehicles slashed to €3/100 km using depot charging and Ford Pro’s E-Transit van.