One of the highlights of yesterday was completing the daily driver inspection for my E-Transit using the Ford Pro Telematics Drive app before hitting the road. I managed the vans on this trip like a commercial fleet!

7:10 AM – Onto Day 3 on the road. I switched to a Transit Custom PHEV. I was quite impressed with its power, flexibility, and comfort. The grade, elevation, and length of this next stretch made the PHEV the best electric choice for me.

7:40 AM - My view this morning as I drove to Innsbruck, Austria. Incredible landscapes!

8:15 AM - Stopped at the famous ski resort Axamer Lizum, near Innsbruck, to visit Fröschl, a Ford Pro customer and family business. Their lines of business include construction of roads, cable cars buildings, hotels and commercial buildings, residential buildings, and railways. The mountain landscape is a challenge but Eduard Fröschl, Jr. explained how their fleet of Ford & Ford Pro vehicles helps them get the job done. Amazing view for work!

9:10 AM - My daughter Grace and I took a few moments to enjoy the gorgeous view after riding up in a cable car to the top of the mountain. Great facility that was constructed and is maintained with the help of Fröschl’s Ford Pro fleet!

9:30 AM - Meeting Christian Ruetz after riding the cable cars back down. His family owns Bakery Ruetz and they depend on Ford Pro vehicles to deliver fresh baked goods to cafés across Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Happy to see our E-Transits supporting a local business to be more sustainable, productive, and efficient.

12:30 PM - It’s a long drive from Innsbruck to Bergamo, Italy. Luckily, Christian sent us on our way with delicious snacks provided by Bakery Ruetz!

3:30 PM - Thank you to the Parolini family and staff at Iperauto S.p.A in Bergamo, Italy’s top Ford Pro dealership. In 2023 they sold 3,000 vehicles. Your love for the Ford brand, your customers, and the community you serve was wonderful to experience. I enjoyed and appreciated our candid conversation!

5:20 PM - After another short drive across Bergamo, I had the pleasure of meeting Luca Travaglini and Daniele Benatoff, the co-founders of Planet Farms. What a great example of how Ford Pro works with so many unique businesses. Planet Farms is an innovative vertical farming company that grows vegetables in “wood houses” like the one where we took this photo, and then uses E-Transits to ship them. The purple light comes from high-efficiency LEDs necessary for crops to grow.

6:00 PM - My sit-down with Lars Burbach, Ford Pro GTM Manager DACH, was particularly informative. The Telematics Report on my trip revealed great insights on the cost comparison of my vehicle compared to an ICE, charging events, and my driving performance.

All my conversations over the past few days have been invaluable for better understanding the challenges and opportunities our Ford Pro customers face. We serve all kinds of businesses, from startups to huge corporations. Their needs are different, but they all rely on Ford Pro.

Nothing beats talking to people face to face and walking in their shoes for a day. I’ve got a long list of to-dos that I’ll be working on with my team! Proof that the best way to learn is to go and see.