Ford is now offering a Type A electric school bus package on its E-Transit commercial van, as reported by Electrek.
(Photo : PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
A Ford E-Transit van is seen on display at the Ford Halewood plant in Liverpool, north west England on October 18, 2021. - US auto giant Ford on October 18 unveiled plans to convert a UK factory into its first electric vehicle component assembly site in Europe.
The Electric Bus
The E-Transit is the first van to provide a Type A school bus that runs on an electric powertrain. It can save over 740,000 gallons of gas and can save 57 percent of the CO2 output over the lifetime of the vehicle.
Ford has not yet revealed the cost of the school bus package of the E-Transit, nor has it disclosed information on manufacturing or range. Despite this, it appears to be an obvious choice for many school districts since government incentives are making it so that buying electric school buses comes close to being cost-free.
School districts are eligible to receive up to $375,000 to replace their old diesel buses with electric buses. In addition, they are eligible to receive an extra $20,000 in credits to help pay for charging infrastructure for the electric buses. This money should be sufficient to purchase at least a few electric school buses.
The time is perfect for schools to switch to electric buses, since many governments are requiring this to be done within the next few years. For example, New York is planning to replace its buses with electric ones by 2035, and Boston has already started the process and is expecting to be done by 2030.
The Success of the E-Transit
The E-Transit is an electric full-size cargo van that has a powerful 68 kWh battery. It generates a lot of power (266 horsepower and 317-ft.-lbs. of torque) and can be fully charged in eight hours with a 48A power source. The battery is located under the floor, meaning it doesn't take up any of the passenger or cargo space.
It can be recalled that the automated introduced the E-Transit in 2020 to serve as an all-electric smart workhorse version of its cargo van for the future of their business.
They were also the first in North America to launch an all-electric cargo van that has topped the charts since then. This allowed the company to have major control over the electric van market with its huge E-Transit sales in July 2022.
In 2022 alone, 6,500 units were sold in the US. The E-Transit was also the best seller in Europe and Canada.
Ford has also gotten major deals with Deutsche Post DHL Group, and they will also supply over 9,000 electric mail trucks to the US Postal Service.
Schools should take advantage of the government funding to replace their old diesel buses with electric buses. The E-Transit is a great option for schools, as it has a powerful battery, generates a lot of power, and can be fully charged in eight hours. This would be a good investment for schools, as it would help them meet their environmental goals while also saving money on fuel costs.
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