Ford shows electric van in Ireland

Ford's first production electric vehicle has been shown off to potential customers in Ireland during this week, and has a pleasant and capable personality along with urban delivery practicality, writes Brian Byrne.

The Transit Connect Electric van is based on the Elite grade with two side sliding doors and apart from its power train it is just like any other Transit Connect. Except quieter.

The 28kWh electric motor is powered by a lithium-ion battery pack which is under the rear cargo floor and doesn't intrude into the loadspace. The package provides a range of up to 80 miles with a full load, and it can be charged from a standard 13A socket.

With a GVW of 2.34 tonnes, the payload of 500kgs is around 20 percent less than a standard Transit Connect, largely because of the extra weight of the battery.

The power train is provided by a specialist company called Azure Dynamics, who are provided with 'glider' Connect Transits off Ford's assembly lines and finish the vehicles.

The EV variant of the van meets all European Type Approval requirements and has been fully crash tested as an electric vehicle.

Ford offers its standard warranty on the vehicle, while the electric components of the power train are guaranteed for five years. A further three-year guarantee will be available for a charge. AZD says the battery will last at least 10 years, and by that time will still be capable of 80 percent of its original range.

On sale in Ireland from November, the Transit Connect Electric will cost €43,000 plus VAT and will benefit from a €5,000 rebate under current Irish regulations.

Ford say the break-even point is four years, after which the much lower power and service costs will represent substantial savings to the owners. A trend towards longer-length leasing will help with acceptance of the variant.

The vehicle is being targeted at fleet users with short-cycle daily requirements, including local authority and state companies. The ESB were among potential customers who were shown the Transit Connect Electric this week.

IC+T PODCAST: Transit Connect Electric: Ger Canty of Ford Ireland's LCV division talks to Brian Byrne about the market positioning of the Transit Connect Electric van.
(Audio: 2'01")

Evoque will be 'conquest' king

The new Range Rover Evoque is expected to sell nine out of every ten units to 'conquest' customers, the brand's general manager in Ireland says.

Eddie Kavanagh of Land Rover Ireland says this 'new direction' by the luxury SUV brand is already attracting interest from owners of Audi and BMW cars particularly.

He also believes the new size, and the distinctive styling, will be especially attractive to women buyers.

IC+T PODCAST: Land Rover Ireland's Eddie Kavanagh talks to Brian Byrne about the new Range Rover Evoque.
(Audio: 4'39")

Ford design boss talks next Kinetic Design

IC+T PODCAST: Ford's executive head of design Martin Smith talks to Brian Byrne about the Evos showcar to be unveiled at Frankfurt. The interview took place at a preview for journalists in Berlin earlier this week.
(Audio: 7'47")

New Picanto—more details

As we reported yesterday, the new generation Kia Picanto city car has gone on sale in Ireland at a starting price of €11,495. The 1.0 3-cylinder engine has CO2 emissions of 99g/km.

The current car has 11 percent of the segment in Ireland, and Kia Ireland MD James Brooks (left) suggests a full year's sales in 2012 should exceed 300 units.

The LX model comes with front electric windows, remote central locking, rev counter and trip computer. The EX trim (€12,595) which is expected to be the volume seller adds extra features including, air conditioning, steering wheel audio remote control, Bluetooth, front fogs and rear electric windows.

After achieving a 5-Star safety rating in EuroNCAP crash tests with the Kia cee’d and Venga, Soul, Sportage and Sorento, Kia engineers are confident that new Picanto will prove to be one of the safest A-segment cars in both EuroNCAP and other international crash tests. Standard safety equipment features six airbags (including side curtain airbags), ESC electronic stability control, HAC hill-start assist control, and ‘active’ front seat head restraints to protect against whiplash injury in a rear impact.

An Emergency Stop Signal (ESS) system is standard. Sensors detect when the driver is braking suddenly and hard, and then flash the brake lights three times to alert following drivers that the car is slowing rapidly.

Brian Byrne asked James Brooks what the new Picanto means in the Kia Ireland context.

Beetle 'heart' of VW brand

At the international launch of the new generation Volkswagen Beetle in Berlin last week, Brian Byrne spoke to Mark Mulvaney and Steffen Nass of Volkswagen Ireland (above) about the positioning and importance of the car. He first asked Steffen Nass why the car had been described as 'the heart of the brand'?