The Ford Transit Custom PHEV Van with the recharged hybrid power unit

2018

Testing of Transit Connect for the goods delivery in Miami

The Ford company announced on June 21, 2018 the beginning of testing of automatic delivery using specially modified commercial Transit Connect van.

The pilot project is implemented together with Postmates company which is engaged in delivery of food and goods from restaurants, cafe and shops, and is already started to Miami and Miami Beach. More than 70 companies participate in the project. To residents of areas, where the project is started, at the order of products or other goods an opportunity to select a delivery option on the autonomous car is given.

Transit Connect van

For this pilot program the Ford company developed Transit Connect with the system of special boxes for transportation of goods. One machine will be able to service several orders within one route at once. Such services as Postmates, deliver the most different orders (from the land to household goods) therefore boxes for delivery differ by the size, at the same time everyone is supplied in couple of coasters for safe transportation of drinks. According to the results of the project it will be possible to define an optimal configuration of such boxes.

At the same time the mechanics of obtaining the order by the consumer was simplified. After the car with goods arrives to a destination point, the user receives the SMS that the order can be taken away, told in Ford. On the touch screen it is necessary to type the access code received after order placement then on the display the message with indication of about location of goods is displayed and illumination of the respective box lights up. The previous project showed that clients like sound hints therefore they are also included in the Postmates program.

Ford tests the unmanned vehicle for delivery of food in Miami

Transit Connect became the first commercial Ford autonomous car, specially modified by the company for testing of different interfaces: the touch screen, a system with several boxes and the external audio system. According to the results of this project by 2021 the design of the autonomous car which is specially intended for commercial use should be developed.

Test machines for pilot projects of Ford look as completely autonomous though actually are controlled manually the experienced driver. It is caused by the fact that the main thing at this stage — to adjust the correct system operation in endpoints, at stages of loading of goods and transfer to his consumer, explained in the company. At the same time Ford continues testing and development of technologies of off-line control by other experimental machines.

Ford sets as the purpose a research of readiness and openness of business and end consumers to the services using autonomous cars. Cooperation with Postmates, in particular, will allow Ford to test different delivery modes which will help the local companies to increase a zone of the presence, to expand the customer base and to offer new experience for the clients.

Tests in Valencia

On May 10, 2018 the Ford company which already investigates opportunities for improvement of conditions of transportation using the hybrid commercial cars recharged from the power supply network in London, announced the beginning of tests in Valencia (Spain). In cooperation with the regional government of Valencia and the management of the city of Valencia the company tries to understand better advantages of such transport to the environment and consumers.

The Transit Custom vans are equipped with the advanced electric power unit, and the EcoBoost engine of 1.0 l provides recharge of the rechargeable battery for increase in a stock of the course. For vans city conditions — some of the most difficult: they are connected with different problems in transportation of people, delivery of goods and rendering services.

Cooperation of division of "smart" mobility of Ford Smart Mobility, the regional government of Valencia and city administration will allow to study how vehicle fleet of the "connected" hybrid Transit Custom vans will improve ecological indicators and performance in the region.

"Ford aims to solve problems in the field of city transportations, including transportation of passengers and delivery of goods and services, using innovations and technologies. There are no two identical cities therefore it is very important to study a mobility problem taking into account the most different factors. Researches in Valencia will help us to understand better advantages which can provide vehicle fleets, small and average by the size, working generally at the expense of the electric power". "' Stephen Armstrong, the president and the chief executive of Ford in the countries of Europe, the Middle East and Africa

Partnership of Ford with Valencia's government and the management of the city of Valencia not only supplements testing which is held already in London, but also is a part of an investment program of Ford within which investments about 11 billion dollars USA in development of the electrified cars are planned. By 2022 the portfolio of the company will include 40 models with the electric drive worldwide, including 16 completely electric cars with a power supply only from accumulators.

The main objective of tests in the Spanish city — to estimate advantages of use of small and average vehicle fleets of hybrids of Transit Custom which work only on the electric motor with zero emissions. The settlement run without recharge – more than 50 kilometers (31 miles), the 1.0-liter petrol EcoBoost engine allows to increase a stock of the course and to eliminate the concerns connected with it, providing recharge of li-ion cells in case of longer poyezdok*.

Twenty hybrid Transit Custom vans equipped with a telematic system for collection of data on financial, operational and ecological performance and also are already used by technology of geozoning which allows to change automatically settings on the basis of the current location of the van in London.

2017

The first public demonstration

The Ford Transit Custom van with the recharged hybrid power unit, was for the first time provided to public on September 8, 2017 in Great Britain. The dynamic presentation of the car capable to move only on electric draft took place on an action of Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle 2017 in the city of Millbruk (Great Britain).

The first public demonstration of the car took place in anticipation of the large-scale project on testing of the commercial Ford cars with connected (recharged from the power supply network) the hybrid drive. Within tests of 20 hybrid Fords Transit within a year will work in vehicle fleets of clients of the company. The experiment which will begin later this year will help to investigate influence of commercial cars on electric traction on air quality in the city and also to study features of their operation in the typical urban environment.

Plans of serial production

Serial production of the electrified Transit Custom will begin in 2019 within the global Ford project on providing clients with a line of available and practical electric vehicles. The car is equipped with a hi-tech hybrid system which allows to overcome distance more than in 50 km without emissions of harmful substances in the atmosphere. For increase in a run between recharge the onboard generator of electricity in the form of the highly effective, won a set of awards EcoBoost engine with a working volume of 1 l with a turbo-supercharging is provided. Such solution provides outstanding profitability without prejudice to functionality.

Tests in London

Commercial the car in London on normal weekday make about 280,000 trips, covering distance in 13,000,000 kilometers. Low-tonnage vans make 75% of cargo transport a rush hours, only in the central part of London, on roads over 7,000 cars of this class pass each hour.

"More environmentally friendly commercial cars as those that took part in tests will play the vital role in decrease in emissions by cargo and commercial motor transport and will help with solution of the problem of air quality in the capital. We will also study the data collected during tests which will become an invaluable resource for our LoCITY program encouraging commercial enterprises to use more environmentally friendly cars", – Lilli Matson, the director of transport strategy of the state enterprise Transport for London told.

Fords Transit on electric traction will pass tests in several London companies at once and also at Heathrow airport and police of London which will use them on a daily basis. Besides, 20 hybrid Fords Transit will be equipped with the advanced telemetric systems which will collect data on operation the car in real time. It will help to understand how it is possible to make use of commercial motor transport on electric traction the most effective in the future.

Besides, in experimental cars the technology of geozoning which can automatically change the Transit settings on the basis of the current location of each van will be used. It can be used, for example, for transition of a hybrid system to the mode of the movement only using electric traction when the car drives in a zone with restriction on the level of emissions in the central part of the city.

Ford is the producer which offered technology of the recharged hybrid drive in this segment of the market of commercial cars. The recharged hybrid drive allows the car to be charged from the power supply network for trips with zero level of emissions while the compact and economic EcoBoost engine generates additional energy for recharge of batteries when it is required. In the electrified Fords Transit Custom the technology of the consecutive hybrid drive in which wheels of the car are set in motion only by the electric motor, without participation of the internal combustion engine is applied.

The block of batteries is the compact construction from lithium-ion elements with liquid cooling located in an underground of a cargo compartment of the van. At the same time in a body of the van the net volume of space offered standard Transit Custom with DVS is completely saved.

The technology of the recharged hybrid provides to operators of commercial motor transport a number of additional benefits. In addition to the energy which is saved up in batteries allowing to overcome over 50 km with zero level of emissions in hybrid Transit Custom the petrol engine for increase in the general run up to 500 km is used that allows not to worry about the status of a charge of batteries. Cars with the recharged hybrid drive also have the increased loading capacity in comparison with electric cars in which for the movement energy of batteries is used only, besides, it is possible just to recharge the recharged hybrids quickly and from the household power supply network.

Plans and investments of Ford

Car maker and Ford Smart Mobility subsidiary company invested $4.5 billion in creation of electric vehicles which will offer buyers more opportunities, efficiency and profitability. In the closest five years of Ford is going to provide 13 new electrified cars, including completely electric compact SUV which will be on sale in Europe, North America and Asia.

Recently Ford announced the ambitious strategy of electrification of a model range in China and confirmed that by 2025 70% of all Ford models sold in China will be offered with the electrified versions. In August Ford signed the memorandum of understanding with Anhui Zotye Automobile Co., Ltd., the large producer of completely electric cars with zero level of emissions in China. The companies will study a possibility of joint start of a new line of completely electric cars in the world's largest automobile market.

Besides, Ford implements the joint project with Deutsche Post on production of specialized vans of delivery on electric draft. It allowed Ford to become the producer, largest in Europe, of the electrified medium-tonnage vans. Until the end of 2018 2,500 StreetScooter WORK XL vans on the Ford Transit chassis equipped with the electric motor with the block of batteries and a body made according to specifications of Deutsche Post of DHL will be constructed.

Electric vehicles