Ford about to launch first mainstream EV, the Mach-E

Ford is on the brink of launching its first mainstream production EV, the Mach-E, which will be followed soon by its first electric Transit van.

These will be key models for fleet and crucial for Ford to achieve its 2021 CO2 emission targets.

Neil Wilson (pictured), fleet director at Ford, said the brand has a lot of electrification technology coming next year, including hybrid engines for the S-Max, Galaxy and Kuga.

Updates to existing models, such as the Focus 1.5 diesel, have led to total cost of ownership reductions of around £1,000 during the vehicle’s lifecycle and its RDE2 compliance means benefit-in-kind tax is lower too.

With new electrified models in the pipeline, Wilson said there are new benefits to educate drivers about and that education process will be a priority for Ford’s fleet team.

“I think we will see a movement back into company cars with new electric and plug-in hybrid models,” he added.

Ford has several other initiatives to help fleets in 2021. It is investing heavily in uptime management and will be expanding its fleet service centre, working closely with its dealer network to know when a vehicle is off the road, and expanding its mobile service network.

Video: Fleet News editor-in-chief Stephen Briers interviews Neil Wilson, fleet director, Ford.

Video playlist: All manufacturer presentations from Virtual Fleet and Mobility Live 2020

Originally shown at Virtual Fleet and Mobility Live 2020.