If Ford’s new full-size E-Transit (see the electrifying.com review here) is a bit on the voluminous side for you, how about something a little more bijou in the shape of the Ford Transit Custom? Smaller, funkier, but with all the features of its big brother, the all-electric version of Europe’s best-selling van looks set to do some serious business. 

With the same 68kWh battery and rear-wheel drive transmission as the full-fat E-Transit, the one-tonne Custom gets a possible 243-miles (380km) of WLTP range, the same 115kW DC fast-charging capability (around 34 minutes 10-80% on a big enough charger) and access to Ford’s ‘Pro’ ecosystem. Which means Ford will help a business purchase, finance, service, charge and run any kind of fleet used for commercial purposes. 

If you’re a fleet manager looking for an easy life and a greener outlook, that’s a big plus, especially when you realise that Ford will also help you install productivity-pushing software that lets you see exactly what your vans are doing at any point, when they need a charge, and even if there’s any faults brewing. For businesses that rely on always-working vans, that’s a bonus. 

Thanks to its 68kWh battery, the E-Transit Custom gets a possible 243-miles (380km) of WLTP range

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But more than that, electrifying.com has recently had a super-secret preview of the newest Ford in the metal, and it has to be said that the Custom is just that little bit less commercial-looking than the E-Transit proper, and it’s a good-looking thing. With it’s new grille and meaner face, the Custom is the kind of van that could make sense for those of us with kit-heavy hobbies, and it’d make a pretty good zero-emissions camper van. When you realise that it can also come with Ford’s ‘Pro Power onboard’ vehicle-to-load system, allowing you to run everything from a hairdryer to a bandsaw direct from the car’s traction battery (it works out at about 2-3miles per hour of range vs working time), it starts to make the VW ID Buzz look over it’s shoulder. 

Especially if the Custom undercuts the ID Buzz on price, which it’s likely to do. Add to that a new interior including the big touchscreeen from the Mach E, tonnes of advanced driver assistance systems and tech as standard, and you’ve got a very compelling green hauler. 

115kW DC fast-charging capability means that 10-80% charges will take around 34 minutes