The Bavarian Red Cross (BRK) is conducting a pilot project supported by Ford Pro to demonstrate the practicality and reliability of electric mobility, even in emergency situations. This project involves the use of a fully electric ambulance based on the Ford E-Transit, which has been handed over to the BRK ambulance service in Erlangen by the Bavarian Minister of the Interior, Joachim Herrmann. The pilot project will run for a minimum of two years, with the electric ambulance being used in the Rhön-Grabfeld and Erlangen-Höchstadt districts.
Ford E-Transit comes in two power levels, with 183 hp (135 kW) or 269 hp (198 kW), as in the BRK electric ambulance transporter. Thanks to its battery with an effective usable 68 kWh, the E-Transit achieves a range of up to 316 kilometres. Probably just as important for its practical suitability: the E-Transit can be fast-charged with 115 kW, allowing its battery capacity to be recharged to 80 percent within 35 minutes - the electric ambulance is then ready for another 180 kilometres.
From 2035, Ford Pro wants to offer its entire commercial vehicle fleet in Europe only with purely electric drive. The entire Transit family will be electrified by the end of this year and there will be at least one electrified model on the market in every series - from the Transit Courier, Transit Connect to the Transit Custom and the large Transit.
“The Bavarian Red Cross pilot project offers a good opportunity to demonstrate the practical suitability of electric commercial vehicles even under challenging conditions such as patient transport. That’s why we’re very pleased that the BRK is trusting in the Ford E-Transit as the base vehicle for Bavaria’s first electric ambulance,” says Wilhelm Buchmüller, Head of Fleet Sales, Ford Germany.
Source: Ford