Earlier this month, the blue oval company officially informed the public earlier this month that one of its large production factories will take on the shipping duties for the 2022 E-Transit van, the new electric version of the well-known cargo van. Initial models came hot  off the development line at Ford’s impressive factory based in the Northland. The E-Transit is the automaker’s second EV to come to light after the Mustang Mach-E.

“Our employees are very excited about being a part of history,” said Carlos Howell, manager of Ford’s Kansas City plant. 

Ford is proud to have the largest active manufacturing area in the Kansas City region. The automaker’s manufacturing plant there supports over 7,000 workers and engineers more vehicles than any other Ford center in the U.S. and Canada. Beyond the new E-Transit, the local plant also produces the combustion-based Transit van and the legendary F-150 pickup. 

Vehicle batteries for the electric van are also being developed in Kansas City — making the plant Ford’s only location for assembling both batteries and electric vehicles on the spot. 

Detroit’s public officials have said demand is growing for the E-Transit van, with 300 customers already purchasing over 10,000 vans through online orders. What’s more, current corporate customers include Walmart and the City of Orlando, Ford stated.

“E-Transit is a testament to the fact that an electric commercial fleet is no longer a vision of tomorrow, but a productivity-boosting modern reality,” Kumar Galhotra, president of The Americas & International Markets Group for Ford, went on record to say in a news release. 

Within just 24 months from now, Ford officials are striving to have the global capacity to build 600,000 electric vehicles every year.

“Behind the scenes, we have teams working on how to maximize production, with a continued commitment to building every high-demand vehicle for our customers with the quality they expect.”