Ford switches electric vans in Germany as diesel bans loom

Ford Motor is constructing an electric delivery van in Europe using technology given by Deutsche Post startup StreetScooter, as Germany clamp down on diesel emissions.

In the recent move, a German court on Tuesday ordered Berlin to enforce driving bans on older diesel vehicles to curb pollution and conform to European Union standards.

“Manufacturing the StreetScooter WORK XL at our plant in Cologne brings together perfectly Ford’s unrivalled expertise in commercial vehicle production along with StreetScooter’s strengths as an agile start-up company,” stated Joerg Beyer the managing director and Product Development of Ford of Europe.

Pressure for mainstream manufacturers to speedup development of zero-emission vehicles has grown new alliances between tech companies and traditional automakers.

The new electric van is based on a Ford chassis constructed in Turkey and equipped with a battery-electric drivetrain and body framed with the help of StreetScooter.

Annual production amount of the new transit van will reach 3,500 vehicles which will be constructed at Ford Europe’s headquarters located in Cologne, Deutsche Post said, adding they will first be supplied to its DHL Group but will also be given to third-party customers.

StreetScooter will keep manufacturing smaller vans.

Advances in manufacturing software have permitted Deutsche Post to tap suppliers to design, engineer and test new vehicle concepts without employing thousands of engineering staff or putting billions in tooling and factories.