The ‘Golden Combination’ that Made E-Transit Custom a Must for this Norwegian Company

OSLO, Norway – When Norwegian utility company Sørby Utleie AS decided to add electric vans to its fleet, the criteria were clear – they must have all-wheel drive, best-in-class towing capacity, and room for a full mobile workshop in the cargo area.

“We’ve tried a bunch of electric cars but never found this golden combination of 2300 kg towing capacity, 1000 kg payload, all-wheel drive, and a big cargo area until the new E‑Transit Custom AWD came along. Now we’re in full swing replacing our diesel vans. It’s simply unique on the market as it is today,” says CEO Martin Authen.

Sørby Utleie AS is one of the bigger regional rental companies in Eastern Norway, with around 2,500 machines and a turnover of over 260 million kroner. The company has invested heavily in electric machines for the construction industry.

This month it took delivery of eight E-Transit Custom AWD after employees test-drove several electric vans and evaluated things like comfort, driving characteristics, space, and how the vans worked as work vehicles.

Because the vans are used as mobile workshops, often with heavy trailers on construction sites, after testing several electric vans and hearing what the staff wanted in a work vehicle, the Ford ended up as the clear first choice.

The E‑Transit Custom AWD can tow up to 2,300 kg and has a cargo volume of up to 6.8 m³. The four-wheel drive system has an electric motor at the back and a matching motor in the front, measuring wheel slip up to 50 times per second. The power is continuously distributed between the wheels depending on which one has the best grip.

With Pro Power, the E‑Transit Custom can also deliver up to 2.3 kW of power from the main battery. This makes it possible to charge or run 230-volt tools directly from the van out on the job site.

At the headquarters in Indre Østfold municipality, Sørby Utleie has installed solar panels, battery banks, and fast-charging stations. The solar panel system produces around 400,000 kWh per year.

The company also has solar panel systems at several other branches and produces a total of around 650,000 kWh of its own electricity annually. Both the new vans, the two electric trucks, and the company's four electric Ford F‑150 Lightning pickups are charged as much as possible with self-produced electricity.

“We've been working on this for a long time. The construction industry keeps setting stricter environmental requirements, and several projects demand emission-free solutions. There are simply some construction sites you can't get into without driving electric,” Martin explains.

The E‑Transit Custom AWD has a stated range of up to 340 km and can fast-charge from 10 to 80 percent in around 29 minutes. The eight E-Transit Custom AWD are the first delivery. Sørby Utleie still has diesel vans that will be replaced over the next few years.

“Now that we've got an electric van with the size, manoeuvrability, and capacity we need, class-leading towing capacity, and a price that makes it interesting, it's definitely likely we'll get more. Given how the market looks right now, it's hard to find another electric van that gives us the same package,” Martin adds.