Facing lower than expected growth in demand for all-electric vehicles, Ford recently scaled back some of its planned investments in that area while also delaying the production start dates of both the three-row Ford Explorer EV and the next-generation Ford F-150 EV. However, the automaker also announced that it will offer a hybrid powertrain in every model in the Ford Blue lineup by 2030 as well, which means that a number of existing vehicles will soon have some sort of electrified option for consumers to choose from. Regardless, that list does not include the Ford Super Duty, nor the Ford Transit, Ford Authority has confirmed.
The reasoning behind this is quite simple – the automaker’s announcement regarding its intentions to offer hybrid options across the Ford Blue lineup means that the Ford Transit is excluded for the simple fact that it isn’t part of that particular business structure. Rather, as we can see from this breakdown, the Ford Blue division – which pertains only to non-commercial, ICE vehicles – doesn’t include the Super Duty or Transit, which are instead part of the Ford Pro commercial business unit.
While it’s possible the Ford Transit may one day be offered with a hybrid powertrain option, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards anytime soon, barring another announcement in the coming years. Instead, this electrified push concerns only Ford Blue models, which includes the vehicles listed above.
As Ford Authority reported in late 2022, Ray Eyles, Chief Program Engineer for Ford Transit North America, basically shut down the notion that a Transit hybrid of any sort was in the works, instead pointing to the E-Transit as the sole electrified variant the automaker planned to offer. However, given its recent shift in focus, it wasn’t immediately clear if that was still the case – until now.
We’ll have more on the Transit and Ford’s hybrid push soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford Transit news and ongoing Ford news coverage.
Comment
Another incredibly dumb decision by Ford management. A hybrid transit with the 120/240v power would be a huge hit with tradesman and campers alike. Better gas mileage and the ability to run high-current appliances (like microwave ovens and rooftop A/C) and charge house batteries. Who wouldn’t want this feature?