A year has passed since the presentation of the prototype E-Ducato, the full electric BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) developed by Fiat Professional as part of its journey toward zero-emissions vehicles. Over the year, despite all the difficulties related to the public health emergency of the last few months, the development of the new Fiat Professional model has continued with the assistance of simulation tools. The Fiat Professional sales force have attended in-depth Virtual Classroom sessions to familiarize themselves with the new van, which is now ready for launch onto the market in pilot projects with selected clients.
The E-Ducato is the result of an extended series of measurements and tests, taking into account all the variables of usage by different types of clients, as well as dynamic, load and environmental aspects. “World Environment Day” today is the ideal opportunity to focus on the new 100% electric solution for a vehicle that is 100% Ducato, designed to guarantee the future sustainability of mobility and business. The brand-new electric vehicle will soon join the methane-driven Ducato Natural Power in the offering of alternative propulsion systems, to take on the market challenge.
Fiat Professional aims to offer comprehensive electric mobility solutions
The development of the E-Ducato included over one year of on-road measurements to analyze more than 28,000 connected vehicles. The measurements from a client’s perspective were taken by a dedicated team of professionals on vehicles with combustion engines running more than 50 million kilometers, to take into account all the variables of client usage, dynamics, load, and environmental aspects. The analyses were focused on mileage, model variability for any kind of mission, fuel expenditure, vehicle usage, and temperature. By adopting this approach, Fiat Professional aims to offer comprehensive electric mobility solutions. With an analysis of energy demand as a starting point, these solutions will not only cover every single task, they will also provide answers ranging from the vehicle to infrastructure, not to mention a whole range of the everyday services increasingly required by a new and emerging mobility. In addition to a full line-up of versions, the E-Ducato also offers modular options for battery size, with ranges in a typical urban real delivery cycle from 200 to over 330 km at standard environment conditions, depending by battery pack, and a variety of charging configurations. It also comes with high-potential performance: speed limited to 100 km/h for improved energy absorption, maximum output of 90 kW and maximum torque of 280 Nm. The new electric engine does not penalize the Ducato’s strengths either: best-in-class load volume from 10 to 17 m3, with a similarly best-in-class payload of up to 1,950 kg. Even more so, the E-Ducato is 100% connected, with an exclusive suite of features that cover the professional and electrification requirements of every kind of client, from user-choosers to sizable fleets that use a fleet management system.
Fiat Professional’s flagship for electric mobility
The new E-Ducato takes no prisoners: 100% Ducato, 100% Electric. It will therefore be Fiat Professional’s flagship for electric mobility and, most of all, for the increasingly evident transition from the “choice of vehicle” to “choice of mobility”, inspired by specific work and business factors, as the concept of vehicle purchase shifts from “Total Cost of Ownership” to “Total Cost of Mobility”.
Comprehensive training for a new sales process
So the E-Ducato professional experience can begin even before getting on board, Fiat Professional organized training days in February specifically for the sales force, involving 265 sales agents and managers across 124 dealerships in the main markets. Road tests structured as a journey through a city were also run at the Balocco circuit, with emphasis on the new full electric driving modes. An in-depth look was also taken at the new WLTP homologation procedure and its impact on the world of outfitted vehicles. Presentations were given on some of these, from mobile workshops and refrigeration to people carriers: a versatility that has always been one of the strengths of the Fiat Professional Ducato.
Virtual training: from developments in training to business development
Given the current cautious social distancing measures, Fiat Professional continued the training in a virtual format: a development in training, just like the E-Ducato represents a development in the business. Each remote session was focused on the product in depth, in preparation for other activities. The E-Ducato technical specifications and line-up were discussed in detail, with special consideration given to its innovative aspects. All the Virtual Classrooms were met with resounding success and were diligently attended. For example, there have already been 310 participants from Germany, 120 from Poland and 210 from non-EMEA regions, while online training will soon begin in the remaining European markets, including in Spain, France and the UK. To continue its journey into the market, the E-Ducato will soon be subjected to extensive specific field testing by partner clients under normal working conditions of usage. On that basis, the E-Ducato is therefore being prepared for its launch on the market, due to take place in the next few months, with the opening of orders in the main European markets as the first stage.
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