Transit Connect Electrics Now On The Job For Detroit Utility

The Ford Motor Company’s Transit Connect Electric has won over a new customer that knows a thing or two about electricity: DTE Energy, headquartered in Detroit. In fact, DTE recently bought four of the electric vehicles (EVs) to add to its fleet as part of its ongoing efforts to increase its use of alternative-fuel sources. The rugged and durable Transit Connect Electrics won’t be coddled, either. They’ll be used out in the field by Detroit Edison’s repair and maintenance crews doing normal, everyday activities—while delivering anything-but-normal fuel savings.

That’s because the Transit Connect Electric can leverage its Force Drive powertrain—developed by longtime Ford partner Azure Dynamics—and advanced lithium-ion battery technology to provide up to 80 miles of all-electric, no-emissions driving on a single charge.

“The addition of these all-electric Transit Connects to our fleet will help Detroit Edison advance the use of electric vehicles in a couple of ways,” said DTE president and CEO Steven Kurmas. “First, we will learn firsthand how these vehicles perform in day-to-day field operations and how we can make the best use of their unique characteristics. Second, they will help us learn more about how the use of electric vehicles by consumers and businesses will impact the electrical system and what utilities need to do to support adoption of these vehicles.”

And while it’s the first of Ford’s electrified vehicles to reach the market, it won’t be the last. The company plans to launch four more during 2012, including the Focus Electric, an EV version of the popular Focus compact; the C-MAX Hybrid, a new high-efficiency multi-activity vehicle; the plug-in hybrid version of that vehicle, the C-MAX Energi, which will deliver an extended electric driving range as compared to the C-MAX; and a new next-gen Ford hybrid that is currently being kept under wraps.

The special delivery to DTE also involved another long-time Ford partner of note: The Transit Connect Electrics were bought from Suburban Ford in Sterling Heights, Mich., which recently became the first Ford dealership in the world to sell a full line of gas, hybrid and electric vehicles—but again, it won’t be the last.

Source: Ford in the News