It was a pleasure to speak at the SMMT Electrified conference. In an industry facing unprecedented turbulence — from supply chain shocks to new global competitors — it’s crucial we focus on the most important person in all of this: the customer.
Committed to Electrification
We’ve invested over £400 million to retool our Halewood plant to build electric power units and have more electrified models than petrol and diesel combined.
We know that when customers switch to an electric vehicle, they are happy and very likely to stay electric. For many, especially fleet car users with home charging, it’s simply a better solution.
“Targets and trajectories are meaningless if we don’t bring customers with us.”Lisa Brankin, Chair and Managing Director, Ford UK
The Commercial Vehicle Challenge
The early adopters have made the switch. We must now listen to the barriers faced by mainstream customers, especially our van drivers.
Our connected vehicle data from over 60,000 Ford vans shows that only 16 per cent could currently operate every day without needing to charge during work hours. Businesses can’t afford to have vans sitting idle. The economics are also a challenge. While home charging is cheap, public charging can cost more than diesel per mile. The business case for many simply doesn’t add up yet.
This is why we must refocus on the overall mission: reducing CO2. Targets and trajectories are meaningless if we don’t bring customers with us. We believe transitional technologies like our plug-in hybrids (PHEV) play a vital role. A Transit Custom PHEV produces less CO2 while driving than its diesel equivalent, even when the battery is depleted, helping customers get off diesel and onto the electrification path without the business risk. 1
A Pragmatic Path Forward
The destination of net zero is the same, but the speed of travel must align with our customers’ ability to transition. We need government policy to support this pragmatic approach, reviewing the ZEV Mandate to reflect the reality our customers face. It's about doing what’s right by the customer and we need to do that together.
Lisa Brankin is Ford UK Chair and Managing Director
1 UK market Ford Transit Custom Plug-In Hybrid homologated CO2 emissions 162-170 g/km WLTP Euro 6e (with battery depleted), homologated fuel efficiency 1.6-2.3 l/100 km WLTP Euro 6e and pure electric driving range up to 55 km WLTP.
UK market Ford Transit Custom EcoBlue diesel homologated CO2 emissions 184-228 g/km WLTP Euro 6e, homologated fuel efficiency 7.0-8.7 l/100 km WLTP Euro 6e.
The declared WLTP fuel/energy consumptions, CO2 emissions and electric range are determined according to the technical requirements and specifications of the European Regulations (EC) 715/2007 and (EU) 2017/1151 as last amended. The applied standard test procedures enable comparison between different vehicle types and different manufacturers. A range of up to 55 km can be achieved with a fully charged battery — depending on the existing series and battery configuration. The actual range may vary due to various factors (e.g. weather conditions, driving style, route profile, vehicle condition, age and condition of the lithium-ion battery).
