Skip to main content

London trials new Ford plug-in hybrid vans

Automaker Ford is launching a multi-million pound project designed to help improve air quality in London, as it accelerates its electrification plans with 13 new global electrified vehicles scheduled for introduction in the next five years. The project, supported by Transport for London, features a 12-month trial of 20 new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Transit Custom vans that are said to reduce local emissions by running solely on electric power for the majority of city trips such as deliveries or maintenance w
January 23, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Automaker 278 Ford is launching a multi-million pound project designed to help improve air quality in London, as it accelerates its electrification plans with 13 new global electrified vehicles scheduled for introduction in the next five years.

The project, supported by 1466 Transport for London, features a 12-month trial of 20 new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Transit Custom vans that are said to reduce local emissions by running solely on electric power for the majority of city trips such as deliveries or maintenance work.

Ford will provide the vans to a range of commercial fleets across London, including Transport for London’s fleet, to explore how such vans can contribute to cleaner air targets while boosting productivity for operators in urban conditions – the toughest working environment for vehicles. The project is supported financially by the UK Government-funded Advanced Propulsion Centre.

Scheduled to launch in autumn this year, the trial fleet will operate in everyday use across a cross-section of city-based businesses, using a Ford telematics system to collect data on the vehicles’ financial, operational and environmental performance to help understand how the benefits of electrified vehicles can be maximised.

The Transit Custom PHEV vans in the London trial are an advanced design that allows them to be charged with mains electricity for zero-emission journeys, while featuring an efficient on-board combustion engine for extended range when longer trips are required.

Related Content

  • Cut freight deliveries – improve Southampton’s air quality
    November 23, 2018
    Taking the pressure off cities’ road networks can have a beneficial effect on the environment. David Crawford looks at a new economic model which seeks to quantify the societal effect of freight traffic in Southampton, one of the UK’s five most polluted cities Cuts of 60% or more in volumes of freight deliveries are being predicted - along with badly-needed improvements in air quality - from a load consolidation scheme currently being introduced in the UK port city of Southampton. The forecasts are based o
  • IRF World Congress 2024: moving ahead
    October 22, 2024
    On the last day of the three-day IRF World Congress 2024 in Istanbul, attendees heard what can work best, what can be improved and what the future might hold for those pursuing sustainable goals. David Arminas reports.
  • Mexico City seeks solutions to improve air quality
    December 6, 2017
    David Crawford ponders prospects for one of the world’s most congested and polluted cities. In 1992, the United Nations named Mexico City as the world’s most polluted urban centre. In the first half of 2016, following the updating of pollution alert limits to meet international standards, Mexico recorded 115 days where ozone concentrations exceeded the acute exposure health limit.
  • Spark plugs may be replaced by lasers
    May 21, 2012
    For more than 150 years, spark plugs have powered internal combustion engines. Automakers are now one step closer to being able to replace this long-standing technology with laser igniters, which will enable cleaner, more efficient, and more economical vehicles.