Related: Leading The Charge: All-Electric Ford E-Transit Powers The Future Of Business With Next-Level Software, Services And Capability

• Ford is helping commercial fleets and businesses make an easy transition to electric vehicles with new fleet-wide energy monitoring and vehicle management tools available through an easy-to-use app and web-based interface
• With the new electric vehicle tools, fleet operators can help optimize running costs and uptime by monitoring the performance of individual vehicles using electric vehicle-specific data such as kWh consumption and charge speed, plus manage charging fleet-wide
• Along with electric vehicle-specific data for fleets, Ford is expanding feature offerings through Ford Telematics, enabling commercial fleet managers to remotely monitor vehicles after hours and offer integrated, in-vehicle driver coaching in real-time through SYNC 4 voice assistant

DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 12, 2020 – As E-Transit prepares to bring commercial vehicle customers more productivity, Ford is expanding its offering of fleet management tools to provide electric-vehicle data, charging reports and web-based pre-conditioning, plus new features that can help secure vehicles and help enhance driver performance.

With new fleet-wide energy monitoring and vehicle management tools from Ford Commercial Solutions, available through easy-to-use app and web-based interfaces, Ford is helping North American commercial fleets and businesses make a seamless transition to electric vehicles. These features will be available to E-Transit customers when the vehicle starts launching next fall.

“Knowledge is power – and Ford is empowering commercial businesses by giving them the information they need to get the most out of their electric vehicles,” said Julius Marchwicki, chief operating officer, Ford Commercial Solutions. “Our new connected services and telematics-based offerings from Ford don’t just help fleets optimize the performance of their fleet and help improve the performance of their drivers – they help ensure businesses can stay focused on providing great service to their customers.”

With the new electric vehicle tools, fleet operators can monitor the performance of individual vans, manage energy usage and gain key insights into their performance. Using electric vehicle-specific data such as kWh consumption, charge speed, distance to empty and more, managers can better understand how they’re operating in real-time in order to help optimize running costs and uptime.

The new tools also enable remote cabin pre-conditioning, so fleet operators can optimize cabin temperatures while E-Transit is plugged in to optimize battery efficiency. Alerts notify managers if a vehicle isn’t plugged in when it’s scheduled to be, while other tools let them remotely manage transactions for public charging and receive reporting to support reimbursement for employees who charge at home.

Help improve performance and secure vehicles with Ford Telematics

Along with electric vehicle-specific services, Ford Commercial Solutions is expanding its fleet management offerings to help North American commercial vehicle customers better manage and optimize the efficiency of their fleets.

Helping to improve the performance of their drivers is top of mind for fleet operators, which is why Ford is introducing in-vehicle, real-time driver coaching through SYNC 4¹ voice assistant. Any time a driver exceeds a speed limit, rapidly accelerates, brakes harshly, leaves the engine running while parked or fails to fasten a seatbelt, they will receive an in-car audio message asking them to correct their behavior.

“We’ve heard directly from our customers how important driver coaching systems are to them,” said Marchwicki. “By integrating this service directly into our vehicles, businesses can better promote safe driving behavior, optimize energy usage on their vehicles, and reduce wear and tear without installing extra hardware.”

Additionally, Ford Telematics² will enable customers to confidently secure and remotely monitor their vehicles after hours. New alerts will notify fleet operators if a vehicle is potentially being stolen, if it’s used without authorization, if it’s being towed or even if it has been damaged while parked. If any of these events occur, GPS tracking also allows managers to see the location of their vehicles even when they are turned off.

Ford is also offering integrated Driver ID, giving managers an easy way to associate specific drivers with vehicles. By allowing drivers to enter a driver-specific code into the SYNC screen, fleet managers get an accurate record of which driver is using which vehicle. By associating a driver with a specific vehicle, managers could analyze performance metrics to potentially identify new coaching opportunities to help manage driver performance.

All of these features build on Ford Telematics’ existing offerings, which include GPS tracking and geofencing capabilities, vehicle health alerts, fuel and energy consumption data and more.

Beyond these new telematics-based services, Ford Commercial Solutions offers Ford Data Services, which provides manufacturer-grade data from vehicles for integration with proprietary software or existing authorized telematics providers, without the need for third-party plug-in devices.

Ford Commercial Solutions, a division of Ford, is dedicated to helping fleets improve their operational effectiveness by offering manufacturer-grade connected vehicle data and information verified by Ford engineers. When enabled by an activated 4G LTE modem³ – now embedded standard on all new Ford vehicles – these connected solutions unlock available software subscriptions that help fleets manage their vehicles.

¹Don’t drive while distracted or while using handheld devices. Use voice-operated systems when possible. Some features may be locked out while the vehicle is in gear.  Not all features are compatible with all phones. 

²Ford Telematics and Data Services are subscription services subject to agreement to FSM terms and conditions. Subscription subject to monthly charge. Modem equipped vehicles only or depending on service – PIDS. Data availability subject to data connectivity and access to vehicle data. Subject to credit check for subscription eligibility.

³FordPass Connect, (optional on select vehicles), [SYNC Connect for 2017/2018 model year vehicles] and FordPass Connect Service are required for remote features (see FordPass Terms for details). Connected service and features depend on subscription and compatible AT&T network availability. Evolving technology/cellular networks/vehicle capability may limit functionality and prevent operation of connected features.