The first all-electric E-Transit van destined for customers across Europe has left the production line at the Ford Otosan factory in Kocaeli, Turkey.
European businesses have so far placed a total of 5,000 orders for the E-Transit and the landmark was celebrated at the Gölcük plant in a ceremony involving Turkish government representatives, investors, employees and media.
Ford Otosan is investing €2 billion to increase vehicle production capacity, including for the next-generation Transit Custom model.
Also, subject to execution of a final agreement, Ford, SK On Co., Ltd. and Koç Holding plan to create one of the largest EV battery facilities in the European wider region in Turkey.
Production is intended to start as early as mid-decade with an annual capacity likely to be in the range of 30 to 45 Gigawatt hours.
By 2024, E-Transit will be joined by four additional new fully-electric models in the Transit family as Ford moves toward its target of zero emissions for all vehicle sales in Europe and carbon neutrality across its European footprint of facilities, logistics and suppliers by 2035.
Ford is now running a programme of customer pilots with a total of 60 pre-production E-Transits, including converted models, operating with customers across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and the UK.
Güven Özyurt, general manager, Ford Otosan said, “Production of E-Transit in our Kocaeli plant, where the electricity is supplied with 100% renewable energy, is a source of pride for us and another turning point in our increasing role in Ford’s electrification strategy.
“We believe that electrification of the legendary Transit model is a major development and an important step for making Ford Otosan the production base of Ford electrified commercial vehicles.”