Car Design News visited Ford and spoke to design director Amko Leenarts and head of D-Ford Usha Raghavachari about the new electrified E-Transit Custom
“This is the most important vehicle for Ford of Europe,” says Amko Leenarts, design director for Ford of Europe. “And not just because it has a huge impact on businesses all around Europe. It is the best-selling car so we have to deliver something exciting. That kind of pressure is stimulating in a really positive way.”
Leenarts spoke to Car Design News as the Ford E-Transit Custom van was revealed to the global audience from a cavernous, not to mention stiflingly hot, broadcasting studio at Olympic legacy project Here East in east London.
The post-industrial setting seemed appropriate to a machine that has kept businesses going for the best part of 60 years: former warehouses transformed into 21st century co-working spaces. As Leenarts says, the E-Transit is a hugely significant vehicle for Ford, so much so that even after 4 years in development you will not be able to buy it until late 2023.
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