The Ford Motor Company of New Zealand has announced that from August 1, the Ford Transit Custom PHEV panel van will sell at less than $80,000 to qualify for the Clean Car Discount threshold.
Currently the Transit Custom PHEV panel van is listed on the Blue Oval website at a recommended retail price (RRP) of $99,990 plus on road costs – which means Ford is slashing more than $20,000 off the RRP to qualify for the government rebate.
At the launch of the Escape PHEV SUV, Ford New Zealand managing director Simon Rutherford says he hopes the move will grow the volume of sales for this model.
Rutherford says Ford dealers are taking orders for the new Transit PHEV and Escape PHEV for delivery this year.
He says that supply of the Transit vehicles from the Ford Otosan joint-venture plant in Turkey has been sporadic due to the semi-conductor shortage as well as shipping constraints.
“Production (of Transit) will lift in the fourth quarter, and we hope to retain our leadership in the light commercial market,” Rutherford says.
The new E Transit will arrive in the second quarter of 2022, but it will sit outside the feebate structure according to Rutherford.
He says there are nine Escape PHEVs currently in the country for dealer demonstrations and the initial shipment of 30 cars will see the order bank allocated to signed dealer orders only.
The base Escape PHEV will retail from $60,990 plus on road costs and statutory charges, while the upscale Escape ST-Line X PHEV will retail from $66,990. Both easily qualify for the Clean Car Discount rebate.
Both Escape PHEV models offer a pure electric driving range of up to 59km and charging time ranges from two hours on a commercial type-2 AC charger or six hours from a domestic 230-volt 10-amp power supply.
