Second Generation Ford E-Transit May Be Built In Ohio

[zipnzap]

https://fordauthority.com/2023/11/second-generation-ford-e-transit-may-be-built-in-ohio/

 

It will still see production, but wonder what bearing this may have on future E-Series output.

 

It also seems like the E-Transit will be split from the mainline Transit and built on a different platform.

Edited December 4, 2023 by zipnzap

[Rick73]

1 hour ago, zipnzap said:

It will still see production, but wonder what bearing this may have on future E-Series output.

The new E-Transit sounds to me like it could be similar to GM’s BrightDrop Zevo, which is a purpose-built electric van for commercial use.  I suppose a new more-capable E-Transit could cannibalize E-Series some, but in my opinion E-Series Cutaway applications like motorhomes and those involving larger and heavier loads may not overlap too much.

 

The BrightDrop is considerably larger than regular vans like Transit, ProMaster and Sprinter, but much smaller than a commercial truck built on E-450 for example.  Maximum length is just over 24 feet, and maximum GVWR 11,000 pounds, but due to heavy batteries, payload is 1,460 pounds.

 

I would personally like to see Ford upgrade E-Series significantly, and also redesign ICE Transit; though neither seems likely to me due to electrification.

[Rick73]

For reference below is information on BrightDrop EV vans.  Could second generation E-Transit be similar?  Maximum range is 250 miles.

 

[jpd80]

Just following on from the above thoughts, I wonder if Ford builds  a new BEV Transit Custom

as well as a new, larger E-Transit that covers larger Transit and E Series.

 

Between Them, those two designs would cover just about every sized van required in North America.

Edited December 6, 2023 by jpd80

[Rick73]

6 hours ago, jpd80 said:

Just following on from the above thoughts, I wonder if Ford builds  a new BEV Transit Custom

as well as a new, larger E-Transit that covers larger Transit and E Series.

 

Between Them, those two designs would cover just about every sized van required in North America.

 

Agree at a personal level that the new Ford Transit Custom would make a great addition to van lineup.  It is reported that in Europe it will be offered in BEV, plug-in hybrid, and diesel variants, though diesel would likely not make it to North America in any case.  From everything I’ve read about the FWD Custom with 2.5L PHEV powertrain, it could meet some of Transit Connect demand, yet offer greater room in a package small enough to fit in average home garage.  The passenger version may be able to double as a tall minivan for some buyers.

 

Though Ford hasn’t officially announced the Custom high-roof variant yet AFAIK, based on prototype photos and dimensions, I believe it will be too tall for many non-commercial buyers.  It looks out of proportion and will likely affect highway fuel economy and handling.  The previous Custom high-roof option looked much better to me, and was probably tall enough for many buyers to stand upright. 

[GearheadGrrrl]

As a Transit Connect owner, a PHEV Transit Custom looks like a great upgrade- More space and thanks to the plug in hybrid feature, no loss in fuel economy!

[Rick73]

40 minutes ago, GearheadGrrrl said:

As a Transit Connect owner, a PHEV Transit Custom looks like a great upgrade- More space and thanks to the plug in hybrid feature, no loss in fuel economy!

Ford Media has great information on Transit Custom below:

 

https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/feu/en/news/2023/10/09/ford-pro-revolutionises-one-tonne-van-productivity-with-the-all-.html
 

 

One of the features I like about PHEV variant is the Pro Power Onboard (2.3 kW in Europe).  That much power in 115 VAC would be great as a home backup in case of extended electrical power failure, and also great for camper conversions.

 

Interesting that there is no mention of H1 versus H2 roof heights as before, just L1 and L2.  The longer low-roof L2 has 6.8 cubic meters of volume, which at +/- 240 cubic feet makes it much larger than Connect, or minivans from Honda, Toyota, or Stellantis.  Maybe Ford is reconsidering the H2 variant as being too tall.  I hope so if imported to or built in NA.

 

In European testing, PHEV electric range is over 30 miles with 11.8 kWh useable battery.  That would cover most of my local driving; but what I hope most that Ford include is a camping mode similar to Tesla that would allow air conditioner to run off battery for extended periods.

 

 

 

 

[Rick73]

P.S. — I found drawings on internet showing the H2 high roof variant will be half a meter taller, so almost 20 inches.  That matches well against pictures of prototype seen testing in Germany.  Another site indicates cargo volume for L2H2 will be 9 cubic meters (+/- 320 cubic feet rounded off) so much larger than L2H1 at 6.8 cubic meters (240 cubic feet).

 

For reference the previous Custom H2 added a little over 14 inches to roof height, versus new Custom over 19 inches.  The extra 5 inches makes it over 8-feet tall, which would limit some garages and parking structures.  Obviously the extra headroom would allow most people to stand upright, which is probably more important for commercial van.

 

 

Versus previous generation:

 

[jpd80]

I’ve mentioned before but perhaps a short wheelbase Transit Custom makes more sense to Ford

now that Ford  Europe’s Transit Connect is being supplied by VW (Caddy based).

 

Whatever Ford decides, it’s great to have options with the vans, something that flies under the radar?

[Deanh]

On 12/6/2023 at 6:11 AM, GearheadGrrrl said:

As a Transit Connect owner, a PHEV Transit Custom looks like a great upgrade- More space and thanks to the plug in hybrid feature, no loss in fuel economy!

not to mention the Hybrid would eject the horribly trouble prone 8 speed transmission!

[ausrutherford]

On 12/6/2023 at 12:13 PM, Rick73 said:

P.S. — I found drawings on internet showing the H2 high roof variant will be half a meter taller, so almost 20 inches.  That matches well against pictures of prototype seen testing in Germany.  Another site indicates cargo volume for L2H2 will be 9 cubic meters (+/- 320 cubic feet rounded off) so much larger than L2H1 at 6.8 cubic meters (240 cubic feet).

 

For reference the previous Custom H2 added a little over 14 inches to roof height, versus new Custom over 19 inches.  The extra 5 inches makes it over 8-feet tall, which would limit some garages and parking structures.  Obviously the extra headroom would allow most people to stand upright, which is probably more important for commercial van.

 

 

Versus previous generation:

 

 

Looks like it has Peyton Manning's forehead...

[DeluxeStang]

5 hours ago, Deanh said:

not to mention the Hybrid would eject the horribly trouble prone 8 speed transmission!

Is the 8 speed known for being unreliable? I know the ecoboost maverick isn't as reliable as the hybrid maverick, but I always assumed that had to do with the engine rather than the transmission. 

[Rick73]

19 hours ago, Deanh said:

not to mention the Hybrid would eject the horribly trouble prone 8 speed transmission!

Europeans also have 6-speed manual in addition to 8-peed auto with diesel engines, so they have various choices.  The PHEV comes with e-CVT, and BEV with 1-speed.

[Deanh]

14 hours ago, DeluxeStang said:

Is the 8 speed known for being unreliable? I know the ecoboost maverick isn't as reliable as the hybrid maverick, but I always assumed that had to do with the engine rather than the transmission. 

it has been a BIG issue inthe Transit Connects....and replacements are $$$$$$...

[GearheadGrrrl]

17 minutes ago, Deanh said:

it has been a BIG issue inthe Transit Connects....and replacements are $$$$$$...

I'm on a couple Transit Connect forums and automatic transmission failures are a daily discussion. A lot of the problem seems to be Ford's "lifetime lubricated" admonishment, folks who change the ATF on them anyways seem to have better luck. The lack of parts and rebuilds drives up the price too- There was a guy who brought some of them back from the dead simply by replacing failed solenoids.

[Rick73]

15 hours ago, ausrutherford said:

 

Looks like it has Peyton Manning's forehead...

Yeah, I’m not picky when it comes to van aesthetics, but that 500 mm added roof height looks horrible to me — hard to look at even if it provides plenty of standup room.  Maybe it’s the angle the picture was taken, or the van’s dark color, but I think it would look out of proportion regardless.

 

From similar angle the previous generation H2 looks much better, though headroom is listed at only 5’-10”.  I could see that being insufficient for many commercial vans, though may work great for others.  It’s too bad Ford can’t offer it in 3 different roof heights like they do larger Transit, but volume probably wouldn’t justify costs.  The middle roof full-size Transit looks best to me.  Low roof variants do not appear to have enough “forehead” now that most vans have a taller roof.

 

By the way, interesting that China is apparently getting (or got) updated previous-generation Transit Custom according to Ford Authority.

 

 

[jpd80]

3 hours ago, Deanh said:

it has been a BIG issue inthe Transit Connects....and replacements are $$$$$$...

Valve body defects (Chinese castings)…….similar to some of the 10-speed auto issues.

[Rick73]

On 12/6/2023 at 1:38 PM, jpd80 said:

I’ve mentioned before but perhaps a short wheelbase Transit Custom makes more sense to Ford

now that Ford  Europe’s Transit Connect is being supplied by VW (Caddy based).

 

Whatever Ford decides, it’s great to have options with the vans, something that flies under the radar?

In a way offering a larger mid-size garageable van would be similar to Ford’s Aerostar and Chevy’s Astro.  For a few years I rented minivans for a week at Christmas for long family trips, and one year rented an Extended Aerostar instead of typical Dodge minivan.  The extra space in Aerostar was great.

 

I expect that if Ford imported Transit Custom or built it in NA, they would do all four sizes, not just the L1H1.  The powertrain is already in use in US so maybe a possibility.  Ford Authority spies reported a short-wheelbase low-roof Custom being tested in US over a year ago.

 

https://fordauthority.com/2022/08/next-gen-ford-transit-custom-spotted-testing-in-u-s-for-first-time/

[jpd80]

6 hours ago, Rick73 said:

In a way offering a larger mid-size garageable van would be similar to Ford’s Aerostar and Chevy’s Astro.  For a few years I rented minivans for a week at Christmas for long family trips, and one year rented an Extended Aerostar instead of typical Dodge minivan.  The extra space in Aerostar was great.

 

I expect that if Ford imported Transit Custom or built it in NA, they would do all four sizes, not just the L1H1.  The powertrain is already in use in US so maybe a possibility.  Ford Authority spies reported a short-wheelbase low-roof Custom being tested in US over a year ago.

 

https://fordauthority.com/2022/08/next-gen-ford-transit-custom-spotted-testing-in-u-s-for-first-time/

The reason Ford was testing the smallest Transit Custom was as a replacement for Transit Connect,

it makes sense to offer a roomy van that’s not much bigger than the LWB TC, things that buyers want?

If that’s so, then  North America May just import ones that don’t compete  with RWD Transit.

Edited December 9, 2023 by jpd80

[Rick73]

56 minutes ago, jpd80 said:

The reason Ford was testing the smallest Transit Custom was as a replacement for Transit Connect,

it makes sense to offer a roomy van that’s not much bigger than the LWB TC, things that buyers want?

If that’s so, then  North America May just import ones that don’t compete  with RWD Transit.

Initially at least, I don’t see much direct competition between present RWD larger ICE Transit and any size of FWD PHEV Transit Custom with much smaller 4-cylinder engine, less room, and much lower tow rating.  That could change of course depending on what Ford does or plans to do with future full-size Transit in North America.  A hybrid or PHEV variant of existing NA Transit would compete more directly with PHEV Transit Custom.  
 

In my opinion the risk is of EV Transit Custom competing more directly with present NA E-Transit.

[silvrsvt]

1 hour ago, jpd80 said:

The reason Ford was testing the smallest Transit Custom was as a replacement for Transit Connect,

it makes sense to offer a roomy van that’s not much bigger than the LWB TC, things that buyers want?

If that’s so, then  North America May just import ones that don’t compete  with RWD Transit.

 

9 minutes ago, Rick73 said:

Initially at least, I don’t see much direct competition between present RWD larger ICE Transit and any size of FWD PHEV Transit Custom with much smaller 4-cylinder engine, less room, and much lower tow rating.  That could change of course depending on what Ford does or plans to do with future full-size Transit in North America.  A hybrid or PHEV variant of existing NA Transit would compete more directly with PHEV Transit Custom.  
 

In my opinion the risk is of EV Transit Custom competing more directly with present NA E-Transit.

 

From my understanding, part of the reason why the Transit Connect was brought into the US market was the smaller E-150/250s was in a no mans land with its overall size with the then new CAFE regs going into effect a few years ago. It would have gotten hit by gas guzzler taxes. That is why the Transit is significantly larger in length vs the outgoing E-150/250.

[jpd80]

32 minutes ago, silvrsvt said:

 

 

From my understanding, part of the reason why the Transit Connect was brought into the US market was the smaller E-150/250s was in a no mans land with its overall size with the then new CAFE regs going into effect a few years ago. It would have gotten hit by gas guzzler taxes. That is why the Transit is significantly larger in length vs the outgoing E-150/250.

T150 & T250 effectively replaced E150 & E250 which is why Ford felt the E Series was in no man’s land

especially after customers eagerly embraced Transit. T150 up exceed upper weight limit for CAFE

but the was also a significant upgrade to heavy duty fuel efficiency improvement (10%?) which the

E150 would struggle to get…it was something along those lines - the Transit was more efficient.

 

The  issue with Transit Custom was that it fell in CAFE Territory and had higher pricing that TC,

North American competition for it was scarce on the ground because no one wanted the ‘tweeter.

Edited December 9, 2023 by jpd80

[Rick73]

As far as I know, Ford designed the newest Transit (4th generation) to also replace E-Series cargo and passenger vans in US after 2014 Model Year.  Starting 2015 MY there were no longer E-Series except for Cutaway and stripped chassis.

 

Previous generation of Transit vans were sold in North America, just not in US.  I recall older 3rd generation Transit being sold in Mexico.  If I recall correctly, specs indicated they were available with Ranger 2.3L gasoline engine and came in both low and high roof variants.  Quick search shows pictures of vans in Mexico from late 2000s.  These older vans appear to me not much larger than latest Transit Custom.

[AM222]

Is this new 2024 Transit T8 only for China or will the design be adopted for other markets?

-www.automotor.hu


-https://www.chinacarforums.com/

Seems to be a full reskin with the same architecture as the current model.

Edited December 11, 2023 by AM222

[ausrutherford]

On 12/11/2023 at 6:21 AM, AM222 said:

Is this new 2024 Transit T8 only for China or will the design be adopted for other markets?

-www.automotor.hu


-https://www.chinacarforums.com/

Seems to be a full reskin with the same architecture as the current model.

 

You would have to figure a new Transit is around the corner as Ford will also be building it in Turkey for VW as the Crafter.