Ford Transit City: China-sourced electric van to start from $50K driveaway

Declan Steele

The Blue Oval adds a third, urban-focussed electric van to its Australian range at a price close to key rival brands’ combustion alternatives

Ford is expanding its electric van line-up with the Transit City, a single-variant China-sourced model set to become one of the cheapest BEV commercials on the Aussie market.

Just one bodystyle and one variant is offered, unusual for a van where options usually abound (there are 33 variants of Volkswagen Crafter in Australia, for example). The lone Transit City can take a 1085kg payload and fit 6.4 cubic metres of cargo – three Euro pallets, Ford says.

Ford Australia’s recommended drive-away price is $50,000, a launch offer through to 31^st December 2026.

This puts the Transit City directly against the LDV eDeliver 5 ($47,990 driveaway on offer for ABN holders) and the Farizon V7E ($49,990 D/A), while undercutting the likes of the Kia PV5 ($55,990 list, $62,271 D/A in NSW), and Ford’s own e-Transit Custom ($77,890 list, $85,416 D/A in NSW).

While priced similarly to diesel Toyota HiAce (from $57,528 D/A) and Hyundai Staria Load (from $52,990 D/A), the electric Transit City undercuts Ford’s own (larger) oiler-powered Transit Custom (from $58,990 list) considerably.

The Transit City’s 56kWh battery is the comparatively heavy lithium-iron-phosphate type, picked for durability. DC charging (fast charging) can be accepted at up to 87kW; Ford claims charging from 10 percent to 80 percent takes 33 minutes. AC charging (slow charging) is up to 11kW, under which a 10-to-100-percent charge takes 5.5 hours.

Though the WLTP quoted range is only 254km, Ford claims that in city use this increases to around 380km. Van drivers demanding longer range might need to stump up for the rival Kia, whose WLTP range is 416km, some 152km longer than the Transit City.

Offered solely with a front-wheel drive motor making 110kW and 260Nm, regenerative braking in the Transit City brings one-pedal driving in its strongest setting.

It’s one of several measures taken to keep tradies comfortable. Standard equipment includes a heated driver’s seat, a 12.3-inch media touchscreen, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, front and rear parking sensors, a rear-view camera and adaptive cruise control.

Service intervals are impressively long: one year or 30,000km, whichever comes first. To ready it for the daily grind, Ford simulated “10 years of severe commercial abuse”, including slamming the door 200,000 times. Drivers who slam it 200,001 times can take up Ford Australia’s newly introduced seven-year warranty.

Ford Australia expects customer deliveries to start in November.