Utilimaster announced Wednesday it has worked with Ford Pro to produce two pilot vehicles built on the all-electric Ford E-Transit chassis for customer testing.
As the chosen body provider for the Ford Pro E-Transit pilot program, Utilimaster says it has engineered its Velocity body to fit the E-Transit cutaway. One of the completed all-electric vehicles is comparable to Utilimaster’s Velocity F-Series for gas-powered Transit chassis fleet customers, but designed specifically for the E-Transit’s all-electric architecture. The other unit features a renewed Utilimaster route-delivery body often seen in the snack food industry, the company says.
“The delivery market continues to demand electric options for their fleets,” says Chad Heminover, president, Shyft Fleet Vehicles and Services. “We are confident our customers will value the benefits we can deliver by integrating the Ford all-electric E-Transit chassis with industry-leading delivery bodies and upfits.”
Utilimaster's commitment to electrification is illustrated through its work on the Ford Pro pilot program, Heminover says. “Our work on the Ford Pro E-Transit pilot program is just the beginning of our commitment to provide the same great Utilimaster work truck and van bodies to electric fleet vehicles from Ford and other manufacturers as they come to market.”
The company says the pilot program vehicles are road ready and will be in use through 2023.
