Ford New Zealand and Singer are electrifying New Zealand’s Ford dealer network ready for the arrival of the Ford Escape plug-in hybrid and the Transit Custom PHEV.
Sales and service teams at the dealerships are also being trained in the new PHEV technology and charging solutions at dealerships and in a customer’s home or business.
The partnership provides for the Escape PHEV in two variants – the Escape FWD PHEV and the Escape FWD ST-Line X PHEV.
In addition, Ford is also gearing up for both a Transit Custom SWB PHEV van and an eight-seater Transit Tourneo Titanium PHEV.
Phase one of the Ford and Singer partnership includes dealerships installing on-site charging stations.
John Andrew Ford in Auckland is the first install completed with the rest of the Ford New Zealand dealer network underway and scheduled to be completed before the arrival of Ford’s new PHEVs.
“The new Ford Escape PHEV has already made a big impact in Europe, quickly becoming the best-selling PHEV on the continent, so we are especially excited to be prepping our dealerships for its arrival,” Ford New Zealand managing director Simon Rutherford says.
“And equally, as New Zealand’s light commercial leader, and now with the Transit Custom PHEV as New Zealand’s only PHEV van solution in market, we’ve got a great option for businesses looking to run a cleaner, greener and more efficient fleet.”
Partnering with Singer makes sense, Rutherford adds.
“They have a successful track record of installing chargers for both businesses and homes and providing fantastic aftersales support, and they can work with our customers to assess the best options for them.”
The Singer installed charging stations are compatible with both Type I and Type II connections.
Most Ford dealerships will be installing the faster 22kW AC chargers on their forecourts, future proofing for battery EVs (BEVs) that are coming. T
The forecourt chargers are for customer use and most sites will also have a second charging station in the service areas.
Each dealership showroom will also have a non-live charging demo unit on display to show customers how simple it is to plug in their new Ford PHEV, while Ford’s Auckland head office will also have a charging station.
The charging stations can be networked back to Singer for monitoring and reporting back on consumption as well as locking or unlocking the station remotely.
“If you can plug in a TV, you can plug in your Ford,” Rutherford says.
Ford sales and service teams can refer customers to Singer for their home or business installations. Singer will do site assessments with the customer and compile a plan for connecting the charging station at their site.
