How Ford Pro Made Transit City Chassis Cab the Perfect Platform for Urban Businesses

Businesses with more specialist requirements can work with Ford Pro Special Vehicles and Ford’s 200-strong converter network in Europe to develop the ideal tool for their job. As Transit City is Ford Pro’s first entry in the one-tonne chassis cab segment, the company drew directly on Ford Pro Convertors’ expertise to make it an ideal base vehicle and help make their jobs easier.

The chassis cab was refined using lessons from larger Transits and features optimised chassis rails, standardised bolt patterns and clear no-drill zones to simplify conversion and result in cost-effective, reliable and capable finished vehicles for customers.

To support conversions that require power from the battery, the Transit City chassis cab will also provide an electrical power take off (ePTO) feature later in 2027, and this is previewed by a refrigerated vehicle at the show.

One-Stop Shop is Ford Pro’s way of streamlining the purchase and operation for more popular conversion types, such as box vans or flatbeds. Partnering with converters who meet Ford’s exacting standards enables the company to deliver a vehicle for customers more quickly and with a minimum of administration.

Transit City Box Van

The Transit City Box Van is converted by leading body builder Scattolini, combining the generous cargo volume of a traditional box van with a low floor, removing the need for a tail lift. It’s the ideal van for companies moving bulky items or wheeled cargo like flight cases or cages.

Ford Pro worked with Scattolini to design a lightweight, low-floor box body. The box is built from panels sandwiching insulating foam between smooth glass-reinforced plastic, meaning the inside is easy to keep sanitised and the outside is a flat, simple surface to take a customer’s livery with decals or a full wrap. A plywood floor with anti-slip surface and 200 mm aluminium kickboards on the front and side walls completes the box.

It can carry up to 1,120 kg, while maximum load length is 3,010 mm, width is 1,930 mm and height is 1,800 mm. Total load volume is 10.4 cu. m, while its twin rear doors with recessed lock and interior grab handle make access simple. These open through 270 degrees to support loading with a forklift or from a loading bay. There’s also a side door to help when loading and unloading from the kerb. 

Transit City Dropside
The durable Scattolini One-Stop Shop Dropside conversion is suited to carrying scaffolding, being loaded with pallets of building materials by forklifts, or transporting lawnmowers, road signs, generators and woodchippers for a municipal fleet.

Its body features a steel subframe with aluminium side and tailboards, and a 15 mm thick ply load bed with a durable anti-slip, scratch-resistant resin finish. The cab protector is steel and offers a handy lashing point to restrain longer loads.

Maximum payload is up to 1,300 kg, and the body offers a maximum load length of 3,130 mm, load width of 2,000 mm and height of 1,504 mm from load bed to the top of the cab protector. The sideboards and tailboards are 400 mm high. Unladen, the loading height is 939 mm. 

Transit City Refrigerated Box Concept
This one-off concept conversion showcases Transit City’s electric power take-off (ePTO) feature which will be available in 2027. Built in partnership with Ford Pro Convertor refrigeration experts Lecapitaine, this concept is a near-production example of the refrigerated vans that power the last mile of the cold chain in supermarket home delivery or pharmaceutical transport. The ePTO feature uses energy from Transit City’s 56 kWh battery to power the chiller unit.

Transit City Racked Van
Also on show in Hannover is a van model with Ford Pro’s One-Stop Shop solution for customers needing racking in their vehicles. From the outside, this is a standard Transit City L2. Once you open the cargo doors, it’s immediately obvious that this is a van designed by a customer to suit their own specific purpose. Sortimo SRS flexible racking options enable customers to configure convenient, secure storage to meet their needs.

Cost-Effective, Right-Sized Electric Van

Ford Pro developed Transit City as a cost-effective, right-sized electric van specifically for urban companies who need to futureproof their business against rising costs, clean air zones and other increased operating restrictions.

The 56 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery and 110 kW electric motor deliver a targeted driving range up to 254 km - over twice the daily average of electric vans in Europe’s cities.

A typical 10-80 per cent charge takes 4.5 hours with an 11 kW AC charger at home or in the depot, Fast charging at up to 87 kW can add around 50 km of range in 10 minutes, or recharge the battery from 10-80 per cent in just over 30 minutes.

Transit City comes in a single, well-equipped series, including a 12-inch dashboard touchscreen,  Apple Carplay and Android Auto compatibility, keyless start and a heated driver’s seat.

Simon Robinson, chief programme engineer for the all-new Transit City, said: “We expect significantly reduced servicing costs. Customers could save around 40 per cent compared with an equivalent diesel van, supported by two-year/unlimited distance service interval and our extensive European network of over 800 Transit Centres and around 500 Mobile Service vans.”