The all-new 2015 Ford Transit delivers as much as 46 percent better gas mileage than Ford E-Series vans, the automaker says.
Transit goes on sale for the first time at US and Canadian dealerships this summer, eventually replacing E-Series. Ford has sold more than 7 million Transits worldwide since being introduced in Europe in 1965.
Transit comes standard with a 3.7-liter V6 engine, and customers also can choose from an available 3.5-liter EcoBoost or 3.2-liter Power Stroke diesel.
When equipped with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine, all-new 2015 Transit low- and medium-roof regular wheelbase wagons get a 14 mpg city/19 mpg highway EPA-estimated rating. Ford says that reflects an improvement of as much as 46 percent compared with the 10 mpg city/13 mpg highway EPA-estimated rating for the Ford E-Series 6.8-liter V10 premium gas engine.
The improved gas mileage translates to fuel savings as high as $1,700 annually, based on EPA data.
Transit low- and medium-roof regular wheelbase wagons with the standard 3.7-liter V6 get a 14 mpg city/19 mpg highway EPA-estimated rating — up to 19 percent better than the 13 mpg city/16 mpg EPA-estimated rating for the E-Series 4.6-liter V8 standard gas engine. Fuel savings for customers could be as much as $650 a year, according to EPA estimates.
A compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas prep package is available on Transit when equipped with the 3.7-liter V6 engine.
Transit also uses an industry-first paint technology that reduces water and energy use and is more durable than other commercial van exterior coatings, the automaker says. The van uses a two-wet monocoat paint process developed by Ford and its paint suppliers.
The process reduces painting time and energy use by cutting the number of paint applications from three to two and the number of drying procedures from two to one. Ford expects the reduction in paint and energy consumed to result in 9,500 tons fewer carbon dioxide emissions and a 35-ton savings in particulate emissions on an annual basis.