Ford will add small electric van in Europe in EV shift

Ford Motor will build a new van range including a full-electric version at its factory in Craiova, Romania.

The gasoline and diesel versions of the van will go into production in 2023. The battery-powered model will follow in 2024, Ford said in a statement on Tuesday.

Ford said in February that its passenger lineup in Europe will become all-electric by 2030 and it expects two-thirds of commercial van sales to be all-electric or plug-in hybrid by the same date. The company has also said it will offer full-electric or plug-in hybrid versions of every model in its LCV range by 2024.

Craiova will be the third Ford factory in its Europe region to build an all-electric vehicle after plants in Germany and Turkey.

The company's first full-electric car will start production in Cologne, Germany, in 2023. It will be based on Volkswagen Group's MEB electric-car platform. The new small van is not part of Ford's partnership with VW.

Ford did not give any details of the van's size.

A source close to the company said the van will be small. This means it would likely replace the Ford Transit Courier, which is currently built at Ford's joint venture plant in Turkey.

A small electric van would compete with Renault's van version of the Zoe small hatchback and Dacia's cargo version of the Spring electric minicar.

Ford's version is expected to offer more load space.

The production of the van in Craiova will see Ford investing a further $300 million in the plant, the company said. The investment will raise Ford's total spending at the plant to almost $2 billion since the automaker bought the former Daewoo facility in 2008.

Ford also builds the Puma and EcoSport small SUVs at the plant. The Puma was Ford's best-selling vehicle in Europe in the first quarter, Ford said.

The new van will use a diesel engine built at Ford's factory in Dagenham, England. It will likely be the same 1.5-liter unit used by the Courier. Gasoline versions are expected to use the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine made at Craiova.

The Courier van is the automaker's fifth-best selling light commercial vehicle in Europe after the three larger Transit vans and the Ranger pickup.

Ford of Europe sold 5,492 Couriers as commercial and passenger vehicles in the first quarter, according to company figures.

Ford has said it will build a full-electric version of its new Transit Custom in Turkey starting in 2023.

It currently sells a plug-in hybrid version of the Custom. An electric version of the large Transit, called the E-Transit, will arrive in 2022.

As part of the industrial partnership between Ford and VW a new pickup for VW and Ford will be built at a Ford plant in South Africa starting in 2022. Ford will also produce a version of the new Custom for VW at its Turkey factory.

VW will build a compact van for both automakers at its plant in Poznan, Poland.