Ford Pro announces a new and holistic approach to electric vehicle charging at the 2022 Work Truck Show. This solution is focused on commercial use cases which include a fleet of new 2022 Ford E-Transit vans and F-150 Lightning pickup trucks. Although, the solution is meant to be open to any electric vehicle made by Ford or other manufacturers.
The ecosystem provides both AC and DC stations that can provide between 11.5 kW and 180 kW of power. The solution also includes Ford’s fleet management software that ties everything together. Here are the details.
The overall idea is not new, but Ford aims to make the user experience simple and robust to satisfy the demanding environment of commercial fleets. The fleet management dashboard can provide real-time information about the vehicle’s state of charge, charge monitoring, battery pre-conditioning state, charge scheduling, energy costs, and emissions savings.
Here are the different charge stations that Ford is providing. I asked Ford whether they are planning to offer a charge station with an output higher than 180 kW. The answer (at least for now) is no. Ford says that their modeling suggests that more powerful DC fast-chargers would not offer a significant benefit when you consider their higher cost.
This solution is available now. The hardware and installation prices vary greatly depending on each specific location and use case. In the end, it’s up to you to decide which charge station solution matches your needs and your budget.
