Ford has opened the order banks for its 2025 E-Transit, which now costs the same upfront whether you order the electric or gas model – and the electric one is even cheaper when you take into account savings on fuel, maintenance, and possible incentives.
The E-Transit got a pretty big update earlier this year (after significant delay), increasing battery capacity from 67 to 89kWh, and gaining faster AC and DC charging performance as well. This came along with just a $1,100 price bump, quite small compared to the increased battery capacity.
2025’s model isn’t getting nearly as big of changes, but does gain a few extra options. The most interesting of these is the addition of “trade packages” straight from the factory.
There is a significant ecosystem of commercial vehicle “upfitters” who will take in a factory-configured van and rebuild it with interior and/or exterior changes for whatever specific niche the van needs to fit into. Businesses will buy a plain van and take it to someone to build the specific cabinets they need for their job.
This is still possible with the 2025 E-Transit – which is indeed still available in chassis cab and cutaway configurations – but now Ford will sell you a van straight from the factory built for four specific common industries, with components from Ranger Design, a commercial van upfitter.
The new trade packages include:
- Electrician trade package, which includes drawers and bins to store parts and reels to hang bundles of wiring – MSRP starting at $4,370
- HVAC trade package, featuring large shelves and storage bins, but also specialized refrigerant storage racks and restraints – MSRP starting at $4,440
- General Contractor package, mix of multipurpose shelves, bins, drawers, and hooks – MSRP starting at $2,900
- Foldable Shelving Package, with deep, large-capacity folding shelves intended for delivery services – MSRP starting at $3,300
While established fleets might already have relationships with their upfitters and have solutions that work for them, this should simplify the process for smaller or new businesses that just want the easiest solution.
2025 Ford E-Transit is much cheaper than gas after incentives
In addition to these options, the 2025 E-Transit now starts at an even $51,000. At least it’s a more attractive number. The chassis cab version starts at $46,200, and cutaway starts at $45,700.
Importantly, Ford says that “comparable gas Transit models” start at the same price as the E-Transit in all three configurations, so not only do you get the fuel and maintenance savings of using electric drive instead of gas, but you don’t even have to pay a premium for it upfront.
But even better than that, the E-Transit should qualify for various green vehicle incentives. You’ll have to check what’s available in your area, but it qualifies for the $7,500 commercial clean vehicle tax credit (which doesn’t have the same sourcing requirements as the personal credit) and likely for other incentives, so once that’s taken into account, it’s even cheaper upfront than going gas, alongside the TCO benefits.
Better yet, Ford is offering a “$2,000 commercial charging cash incentive.” Since many businesses will have to install some method to charge their electric vans, this can be combined with various government or utility incentives to help with charging installation and bring the price down quite a bit.
However, we’ve heard no mention yet of native NACS connectors on trucks, which would help reduce the price of commercial charger installations significantly. But if you order the optional Mobile Power Cord, it will come with a NACS adapter.
The order banks for the 2025 Ford E-Transit are open today, so reach out to Ford Pro to go electric with your business.
Electrek’s Take
I’ve argued before that the EV cost parity conversation doesn’t make any sense, and I still hold that position. Especially for commercial customers who are often more spreadsheet-driven, where the benefits of longer-term fuel and maintenance savings are more clear than they are to the mercurial consumer.
But commercial EV prices can still be quite eye-watering. There are a ton of incentives available (though the really big ones are for heavier-duty vehicles than the E-Transit), but navigating one’s way through all of these can still be complicated for a business that just wants a truck.
And it’s still important to offer a choice with a little friction as possible. If buyers can call up Ford Pro and just as easily pick gas or electric, with no difference in base price, and with factory upfitting options, and get help installing a commercial charger (perhaps one of the ones that Ford Pro itself sells), that gets rid of a lot of the confusion and calculation with going electric.
So moves like this are a great way to ensure more businesses can convert to electric as easily as possible. No wonder the E-Transit is the best-selling electric van in America, Ford seems to be doing it right over there.
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