Detroit Edison (DTE) President and Chief Operating Officer, Steven Kurmas, presented two out of four recently-purchased Ford Transit Connect Electric vans at DTE Energy headquarters in downtown Detroit.
Four Transit Connect Electrics will be used by Detroit Edison in its field fleet as part of the company’s efforts to expand its use of alternative-fuel vehicles.
The Ford Transit Connect Electric, a pure electric-powered version of the Transit Connect small van, is fitted with a Force Drive battery electric powertrain made by Azure Dynamics featuring Johnson Controls-Saft’s advanced lithium-ion battery technology.
The all-electric, zero-emission vehicle has a target range of up to 50 to 80 miles per full charge, and will be rechargeable using either 240-volt or standard 120-volt outlets.
The vehicles were purchased from Suburban Ford of Sterling Heights, Mich., one of the first Transit Connect Electric-selling dealerships, and the first Ford dealership to offer a full line of gas, hybrid and electric vehicles.
Transit Connect Electric is the first product in Ford’s accelerated electrified vehicle plan, and will be followed by the Focus Electric, the C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in 2012 and another next-generation hybrid vehicle later in 2012.
