Ford wins contract to make 2,500 all-electric vans for Deutsche Post

Ford has won an important contract to further electrify Deutsche Post’s fleet of delivery vehicles.

Deutsche Post has already been deploying electric vehicles in its fleet, but this new contract should quickly add 2,500 all-electric vans on the roads.

They will use the chassis of the Ford Transit, which will be equipped with a new battery-electric powertrain.

Ford had already announced plans for a plug-in hybrid version of the Ford Transit for 2019, but it looks like this new contract is changing the plan by using an all-electric version built on the same chassis.

Production is set to start next month and expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

Jürgen Gerdes, member of the executive board of the Deutsche Post AG, commented on the news:

“I consider this partnership another important boost for electro-mobility in Germany. This step emphasizes that Deutsche Post is an innovation leader. It will relieve the inner cities and increase the people’s quality of life. We will continue working on completely carbon neutral CO2-neutral logistics!”

The company has already been producing its own all-electric delivery vehicle, the Streetscooter (left), but the new vehicle built on the Ford Transit will be significantly bigger, Streetscooter XL (right):

Along with the new contract, Deutsche Post plans to double its production of the Streetscooter to 20,000 units per year – making the logistic company a significant EV manfacturer.

Steven Armstrong, group vice president and president Europe, Middle East and Africa, Ford Motor Company, also commented on the new contract:

“E-Mobility and innovative traffic solutions for urban areas are key focuses for us as we transform our business to meet future challenges. As the leader in commercial vehicles in Europa, this partnership plays perfectly to our strengths and in StreetScooter and the Deutsche Post DHL Group we have a partner with enormous competence and a worldwide network.”

While it’s a custom commercial vehicle, it looks like it will officially be Ford’s next all-electric vehicle since its next passenger all-electric vehicle is not planned to hit production before 2020.