First look at Ford’s electric DHL delivery van

In June, Ford revealed that it would develop electric delivery vans for Germany’s Deutsche Post DHL Group as well as its subsidiary, StreetScooter GmbH. It’s not even the end of summer, however Ford’s already built a few.

Ford flaunted one of the first early-build electric delivery vans this month. Called the StreetScooter Work XL, the van begins with a Ford Transit chassis that includes a battery-electric drivetrain. The body is developed particularly for delivery through Deutsche Post and DHL Paket in Germany.

The automaker anticipates to put together 150 early-build models in this year, with a huge ramp-up in 2018 that needs to see production rise to 2,500 units. The vans will be made at StreetScooter’s plant in Aachen, Germany, and similar to other electric StreetScooter models, it can be sold to 3rd parties.

A modular battery system allows batteries in between 30 kWh and 90 kWh, relating to a range in between 50 and 124 miles. Charging is expected to take about 3 hours at 22 kW, which has to do with one-fifth the power of a Tesla Supercharger. The vans, which will be StreetScooter’s largest, can swallow up to 200 plans with their 706-cubic-foot storage capability.

These electrical vans might provide some enormous advantages to the environment. Ford approximates that each Work XL can conserve around five metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions and roughly 500 gallons of diesel fuel annually.