There’s really no secret that the future of driving will involve battery-powered vehicles and the electricity offered that will be the useful fuel that we enjoy on the road. One area where many automakers are working to improve the drive and give us the EV ride quality that can be added to commercial vehicles. Commercial passenger vans that are used for transporting people around town and to airports can be powered by electricity and give us the efficient drive needed when the temperature is fairly consistent, but the cold weather changes this.

Temperature Changes the Range of a Vehicle

The advancements being made in battery technology look to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of a charged battery for the drive you want to enjoy. What Ford is working on in Europe is called the Transit Smart Energy Concept, which is a fully electric commercial van that can offer the ride and range needed. Typically, using the climate control features in an electric vehicle can reduce the range by as much as fifty percent in cold weather. With a vehicle such as the Transit, this range can be reduced even more to demand more energy to be used for the ride and for the comfort of passengers.

Making the Changes Needed

The Ford Merkenich Technical Center in Germany is working with this new Ford Transit concept model to develop a way to retain more of the electric range when the climate control systems are in use. This new concept van has a 92-mile range on a four-hour charge. It uses the same drivetrain as the StreetScooter Work XL commercial van. One item that differentiates this van from the previous one is the new heat pump system that’s used. This system uses heat from the drivetrain, cabin air, and exterior air to reduce the energy usage by 65 percent and increase the driving range by as much as twenty percent.

More Ways to Save Energy in this Ford Concept

Another way the new Transit Concept model is saving energy and making use of the power offered around it is with six solar panels on the roof. These panels can be used to charge a 12-volt battery, provide power to the seat heaters, cabin lighting, and electric features including wireless phone charging. The team working on this project has also developed a sliding door that will stop halfway to save the amount of air that’s exchanged during stops.

A Central Control for the Driver

The various climate control features of this new Ford Transit Smart Energy Concept can all be controlled by a touchscreen at the center and front of the dashboard. This makes it possible for the driver to know they can increase the range by reusing the energy around the vehicle and save more of the range with the help of the solar panels. Finally, a commercial vehicle that doesn’t lose most of its power just because it has the heater turned on. Hopefully, this concept will become a reality and be a new commercial van that’s used around the world.