Ford Pro, the brand’s commercial vehicle arm, is launching an integrated charging solution in Europe. It’s designed to help customers find the best charging strategy for their electric vehicle (EV) fleets, install charging infrastructure and optimise the vehicle charging process.
With growing pressure on fleets to electrify, whether it’s from companies looking to meet corporate sustainability objectives or from increasingly environmentally-conscious customers, Ford Pro can help with a range of solutions to help with this.
We think this is a useful solution for many companies who don’t where to start when it comes to electrification of their commercial fleets. It’s only once the complete system solution is offered that they realise just how easy it is to transition to electric vehicles and the huge running cost savings associated with them.
Ford Pro is helping customers unlock the business benefits of electrification and guiding them to the most suitable long-term charge solutions for their fleets. Ford Pro Charging’s consultants will work with customers to help them identify the optimum charging solution for their business.
Ford Pro Charging, which is a component of Ford Pro, and integrates with the other Ford Pro solutions to provide a seamless experience that delivers full control to fleet managers and simplifies charging for drivers, will help customers to maximise effectiveness and productivity.
Charging Solutions
Ford Pro Charging can help fleet managers ensure their vehicles are charged and productive using Ford Pro’s E‑Telematics software, which translates key manufacturer-grade vehicle data sent from E‑Transit’s standard FordPass Connect modem into insights and alerts.
These include range status with customisable low remaining range alert thresholds, alerts if a vehicle is not charging when it should be, and charge performance insights including kWh consumption, charge speed and distance until empty.
The system also enables Scheduled Pre-Conditioning, which ensures the E-Transit battery pack is at the optimum working temperature while charging to help maximise available range.
Bespoke Solutions
The best fleet charging solution will vary from business to business and Ford Pro will aim to offer a bespoke set-up that is most effective. They will help to identify the most efficient, future-proof charging solution and project-manage the entire planning and commissioning process.
This means even fleets with limited knowledge of electrification options can easily make the switch. Plus, Ford will help with hardware installation and management software that helps to optimise the charging process.
Once depot charging is active, Ford Pro Charging’s intelligent software can automatically evaluate each individual vehicle’s duty cycle and charge level to manage energy across a depot for optimum efficiency and uptime.
The secure system uses vehicle and charger data to simplify fleet charging by offering fully automated charging to best fit around usage cycles, or supervised charging where operators can schedule charging between pre-selected times or until a certain state of charge is achieved.
This can help customers with certain vehicles that are high-priority for an early start, and could potentially lower energy costs for customers who charge their fleet overnight and have time-dependent energy tariffs.
Easy Home Charging
Many fleet drivers take their vans home after shifts and require a charging solution away from the depot. Ford Pro Charging offers solutions for home charging for convenient overnight charging with the Ford Connected Wallbox. This also allows fleet managers to remotely check if a vehicle has missed a charge slot at the driver’s home.
Not every fleet driver has a private driveway, however, electric charging points integrated into lampposts, such as those from ubitricity, are becoming increasingly common. Where drivers can charge near their homes without trailing charge cables across public footpaths, they can use the unique fob to charge the vehicle and automatically invoice a company account.
Business-friendly public charging
While Ford Pro anticipates that operators will only rarely use public charging to recharge their vehicles while at work but to cover all circumstances and offer greater flexibility, the company provides access to Europe’s most comprehensive public charging network.
With access to a network of over 300,000 chargers across Europe via the fast-growing Blue Oval Charging Network, finding a charger to top up the battery is easier than ever.
To help drivers find charging stations, Ford Charge Assist can be accessed using the touchscreen of Ford’s SYNC 4 2 connectivity and entertainment system. The system can help locate chargers nearby.
Iza Lozowska, Ford Pro Charging European manager, said: “Ford Pro Charging offers fleets a single, integrated solution covering the entire charging process, delivered by a partner they can trust.
“We will work hand-in-hand with them to future‑proof their business by finding the right charging strategy, making the switch to electric vehicles as simple as possible.”
