The Ford Transit Custom is consistently the best selling van in the UK, and has been since approximately forever. The latest generation improves on the previous model in all the usual ways, with one notable addition. It’s now available in fully electric form – The Ford E-Transit Custom.
As the best-selling van in the UK, the Ford Transit Custom provides an excellent case study in determining whether diesel or electric power is the best choice for your business. Or, for a third option, there’s also a plug-in hybrid model that we’ll also discuss.
While electric vans only account for around 5% of new van sales at the moment, that number is set to increase rapidly over coming years. This will be partly driven by demand, with many large clients already beginning to expect their suppliers and contractors to operate green vehicles. But mostly it will be driven by government mandate, with steadily increasing sales requirements for electric vehicles each year.
While there’s now plenty of choice for small businesses looking to buy or lease an electric van, operators still have plenty of questions about the differences, the pros and cons, and the implications for their businesses by switching to an electric van.
With the E-Transit Custom now available to purchase, here’s some guidance on how to decide which fuel suits your business.
What does the Ford Transit Custom offer?
If you’re familiar with the previous Transit Custom, you’ll find the new one to be a familiar evolution – which is not surprising, of course.
The Transit Custom offers several different diesel engines with either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic gearbox. Depending on your choice of engine and gearbox, there are six different trim levels spread across the range, so you may need to spend some time on the Ford website or with a Ford dealer to work through all the different permutations.
The cheapest entry point to the Transit Custom range starts at just over £32K plus VAT and the most expensive diesel option is about £46K plus VAT.
When it comes to payload, the new Transit Custom range continues to be available with two wheelbase options – the long wheelbase version moves the rear axle back, extending the load area by 40cm. Body types include a standard van with two or three seats in the front; a double cab-in-van which adds an extra row of seats; or the kombi version can seat up to nine people. A multicab option is also available which adds two seats behind the front passenger and allows the full load length to be utilised behind the driver.
What does the Ford E-Transit Custom offer?
The big news for the latest-generation Transit Custom is the new electric powertrain option. All body types (regular delivery van, double cab, kombi, multicab) are available with electric power.
The electric versions come in four different trim levels, rather than six: Trend, Limited, Sport, and MS-RT. The E-Transit Custom is offered with two power levels (100kW/136hp and 160kW/218hp), although they both have the same 65kWh battery. That means the more powerful version has a slightly shorter driving range.
The entry-level version has an official range of up to 203 miles while the most powerful option has an official range up to 195 miles. In real world driving conditions with a payload on board, both are likely to consistently deliver around 150 miles on a full charge.
Another handy feature that the E-Transit Custom offers is called V2L (vehicle-to-load), which is the ability to run electrical tools or devices off the van’s battery without requiring on-site power or having to plug into a generator.
Is the Ford E-Transit Custom a good fit for my business?
Unlike passenger car customers, van buyers are not usually choosing a work vehicle based on subjective opinions. They need objective analysis to determine whether a vehicle is going to help or hinder their business.
There are pros and cons to switching from a diesel van to an electric model, and the suitability of such a decision will depend on your requirements.
Mileage
The first thing to consider is your daily mileage. If you normally drive up to around 100 miles a day, then the E-Transit should provide plenty of range to get you through the work day with miles to spare. However, if lots of long-distance or motorway driving is a regular feature of your working routine, the diesel version might be better suited for you.
Electric vehicles have a clever ability to ‘recuperate’ lost energy. What that means is that whenever you are coasting or braking, they can convert kinetic energy of your rotating wheels into electricity, which is then stored in the battery. So every time you slow down or stop, you get back a little bit of the electricity you’ve used. In urban driving, which has lots of stopping and starting, this can add several miles to your official battery range.
On A-roads and motorways, where you tend to be sitting for long periods at a constant speed, you don’t get this recuperation and so your battery will drain more quickly.
Charging
Being able to complete your day’s work on one charge is important, but so is the ability to recharge your van’s battery without the van being off the road for any length of time.
Another key consideration for electric van ownership is access to charging. Having somewhere to charge at home will make this transition much easier and cheaper. If you are able to park the vehicle off-street at either home or the workplace, then a charging wallbox can be installed so the vehicle can charge overnight.
For vans that are parked on the road, some councils have set up charging points in lamp posts and bollards. Alternatively, if charging is unavailable at home then charging may be accessible at work or on site so the vehicle can be charged during the day.
Charging at home is massively cheaper than charging at a public charging point, especially if your electricity provider has a special tariff for EV charging. Shop around to make sure you’re getting the best possible deal. This is one area where you can help to control your running costs, since the price of diesel or petrol is obviously well out of your control.
Performance
Electric motors generate a lot of torque and they do it instantly, so an electric van will be very nippy in urban driving – even with a full payload – compared to a diesel or petrol van, where performance tends to build as engine revs increase. It also means that range and performance don’t drop off significantly as you load up an electric van.
Diesel is also good in this regard, although not as good as an EV, but a petrol van will suffer significantly diminished performance and increased fuel consumption as you add weight (which is one very good reason why no-one buys medium or large vans with petrol engines).
Payload
Speaking of payload, there is a difference here, although maybe not as much as many operators might fear. The E-Transit Custom does have a reduced maximum payload compared to its diesel equivalent, but it’s still suitable for the vast majority of applications.
All trim levels can carry at least 1,000kg and the base-spec Trend offers the best weight capacity at 1,088kg. By comparison, the equivalent diesel version can carry 1,384kg. For the vast majority of applications, 1,000kg will be more than enough to carry tools, packages, and bulky items that aren’t extremely heavy.
Towing capacity for the E-Transit Custom is 2,300kg. The entry-level diesel can only tow up to 2,000kg and most of the range is rated to 2,500kg so the E-Transit Custom doesn’t sacrifice a lot of capacity in the towing department. If maximum towing is a must, a diesel-engined Trend-spec van can tow up to 2,800kg.
Client requirements
As well as being much quieter and smoother to drive, the E-Transit Custom could provide reputational benefits, and operating an electric van could be a good selling point for your business.
With companies looking for ways to make their operations greener, it’s becoming increasingly common for them to look for suppliers and contractors with eco-friendly vehicles. This is only going to accelerate in coming years, so it’s certainly worth considering if you’re in the market for a new van now.
How much does the E-Transit Custom cost?
The entry-level Trend E-Transit Custom starts at just over £46K plus VAT. Although this is around £14,000 more expensive than the cheapest diesel version, the E-Transit Custom is eligible for the government’s plug-in grant for large vans. This means you could get as much as £5,000 off the purchase price. The dealer applies the discount from the point of sale so it’s not something you need to apply for or wait to get reimbursed.
While the purchase price might be a little higher than an equivalent diesel van, maintenance, charging (depending on when and where you charge) and other running costs should be much cheaper. These all combine in a total cost of ownership model that suggests over the lifetime of the vehicle it will cost you less than it would if you’d had a diesel van for the same amount of time.
The Transit Custom and E-Transit Custom both come with a three-year / 100,000 mile warranty. For diesel variants, service intervals are recommended every two years or 25,000 miles. Ford advises the E-Transit should be serviced every two years with no mileage limit. As the electric van has fewer mechanical parts, servicing should be more affordable and breakdowns are less likely. Our sister site The Car Expert has conducted extensive research that shows EVs are 25% cheaper to service than equivalent fossil-fueled models.
Road tax for electric vans is currently free. From April 2025, this will change to the standard rate for light goods vehicles. For companies that operate in low emission zones, an all-electric van will mean you are exempt from any emissions-based charges. This could be another good way to future-proof your business if a low emission zone is likely to be implemented in the area where you work over the next few years.
What if my business isn’t ready for an electric van?
If you don’t think your requirements can be fulfilled by a electric van but you do have access to charging at home or work, there is a third option – the Transit Custom plug-in hybrid. Ford is one of the few van manufacturers offering a plug-in hybrid van, with most brands only having the choice of purely fossil fuel or purely electric power.
The Transit Custom plug-in hybrid has an electric-only range between 23 to 35 miles, which is ideal for local jobs or residential areas where operating in near silence might be more beneficial – especially late at night or at weekends.
However, with a relatively small battery and low electric driving range, the need for charging regularly to maximise use of the electric motor is far greater on a plug-in hybrid than on a full EV. While many operators may be able to go for several days without charging an EV, almost any plug-in hybrid van would need daily charging. Even then, you’re likely to spend a fair amount of driving driving on the petrol engine while dragging around a few hundred kilos of dead battery and electric motor.
Like the fully electric E-Transit Custom, the plug-in hybrid has V2L capability as well, so you can run your tools off the vehicle’s battery. However, given that the battery is much smaller, you may need to prioritise driving in petrol-only mode to ensure you have enough electricity left in the battery to run your tools.
Prices for the plug-in hybrid range from just over £41K plus VAT in Trend trim up to almost £56K in MS-RT trim. You can’t get the Kombi passenger version as a plug-in hybrid. Towing capacity is the same as for the E-Transit Custom at 2,300kg.
Additional reporting by Stuart Masson.
