Ford is updating the E-Transit with a larger 89kWh battery, increasing range by roughly 30% depending on configuration, and faster charging on both DC and AC.
The battery increases from 67 to 89kWh, a substantial increase. The update means that the low-roof version of the E-Transit will have a range of 159 miles, up from 126 miles previously, a 26% improvement.
Ford didn’t share range numbers for the medium- and high-roof versions, but did say that the high-roof version gains 32% range from the previous model. Given the previous model’s range of 108 miles, that means the new one should have a range of 143 miles or thereabouts.
The E-Transit also gets improved DC charging performance, with 176kW charging capability, up from 115kW. When connected to a suitably-quick charger, this means a 2024 E-Transit (low roof model) can get 67 miles of range in 15 minutes, an improvement of 49% over the previous model. And any new E-Transits will have access to Ford’s new NACS adapter which just came out last week, though they still have the old CCS port on the vehicle itself for now.
But it’s not just DC charging that’s improved, but AC charging as well. The new dual onboard charger improves AC charge speeds by 22%, meaning a van will be able to charge from zero to full in 6 hours and 11 minutes on an 80 amp charger (suggesting a ~14.3kW charge rate). Better AC charging is important because a lot of these vans will be charged overnight at a business’s property, or even at workers’ homes.
That said, 80-amp charging is rare to find at homes. So for home charging, Ford is announcing a new 48 amp charging unit with replaceable cables and cellular connectivity. This unit will be available for order mid-this-year.
Prices start at $51,095 before destination fees, which is $1,100 more than last year’s base price. The E-Transit qualifies for the federal EV tax credit, which helps shave $7,500 off the price, and can likely qualify for other green incentives in various regions as well.
Electrek’s Take
Last year, Ford gave us an exclusive that the E-Transit would get a 186-mile battery, to be announced last May. That date came and went with no announcement, and when we followed up later, Ford said they had no news to tell us on that front. So, it’s disappointing that that didn’t materialize.
But now that we’ve actually seen the stats on the improved E-Transit, these are nice changes. Rather than having one small and one large battery option, the whole model range got improved electric range and charging, without much additional cost. That’s a rare thing, to see such a big upgrade of what is already the best-selling commercial EV, and with little additional cost. It’s much cheaper than Mercedes’ eSprinter, for example.
It would be nice to still have smaller battery availability for those customers who don’t need the extra range, though. Some companies might have shorter routes or smaller coverage areas, and would prefer lower costs. Having an even cheaper model available could be great for those customers. But regardless, the current price and operational costs of the E-Transit are attractive either way, so if Ford wants to give customers better stuff for free, we’ll gladly take it.
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Iran’s oil minister on Wednesday criticized the effects of war-led disruptions to oil markets, weeks after Tehran’s 12-day hostilities with Israel sent crude price soaring.
In remarks via videoconference for the OPEC seminar in Vienna, Mohsen Paknejad said, “Whatever the cause, an aggression of war that leads to the disruption of the supply of oil and gas resources to the international market imposes … complications on energy producers, and subjects national economies to hardships.”
“I believe we all need to take a principled stand against the resort to, and use of war, as a tool of pursuing political objectives,” he said.
Iran is the third-largest producer in the influential OPEC alliance and holds the organization’s rotating one-year presidency in 2025.
The security of Tehran’s supplies — which averaged 3.3 million barrels per day in May, according to the June OPEC monthly oil market report that cites independent analyst sources — came under scrutiny last month, as Iran engaged in direct missile and drone strikes with long-time regional foe Israel.
Tensions further escalated when the U.S. attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities, Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, in what U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have repeatedly touted as a victory over Tehran.
Iran and Israel ultimately agreed to, and have been implementing, a Washington-brokered ceasefire since June 24, offering relief to oil prices that have since retreated amid concerns over long-term demand and output increases from some OPEC producers. The security of Iranian supplies remains a concern within the producer group’s considerations when deciding its output strategy, an OPEC+ delegate previously told CNBC.
Bob McNally, founder and president of Rapidan Energy Group, echoed that sentiment on Wednesday, telling CNBC’s Dan Murphy that “geopolitics is by far the biggest Black Swan,” or unpredictable factor, governing the market picture in the near-term, with Iran as an ongoing concern.
“We are not out of the woods with Iran,” he said with respect to lingering questions over the fate of Tehran’s nuclear program, which Israel and the U.S. have cited as the reason behind their recent offensive.
“What we believe in here is that the last 20 years of just sort of kicking the can down the road with Iran is likely to come to an end,” he added.
Trump, who also took a strict and sanctions-based approach to engaging Tehran during his first term, has made a priority of pursuing negotiations to achieve a so-far elusive nuclear deal with Iran during his second presidency. Late last month, Iran’s parliament approved a bill on suspending cooperation with the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“We are heading to where we’re going to have either a diplomatic deal, lifting of sanctions and a more benign scenario, or, I think we’re just setting up for the next round of conflict, especially if Iran attempts to go for a bomb or refuses to negotiate or even reconstitute its sort of shattered air defense system,” McNally noted.
Washington’s sanctions – bolstered by a fresh wave on July 3 – have crippled Iranian crude exports, the backbone of the Middle Eastern country’s economy. Most of Tehran’s barrels now head to China, often transported by Iran’s “shadow fleet” of off-grid oil tankers and intermediating shell companies.
Taiwanese smart-scooter pioneer Gogoro is taking a step into more accessible territory with its newest model, the Ezzy. The company hopes to leverage its massive lead in battery-swapping technology while also bringing its smart scooters to a broader audience by lowering its price point.
Designed as a no-frills, budget-friendly ride that doesn’t skimp on modern conveniences, Ezzy is priced around NT$59,980 (around US $2,000). Once you add in the government subsidies from its native Taiwan, that price drops below NT$30,000 (around US $1,000). For Gogoro, this is the smartscooter distilled to its essential core: practical, connected, and ready for daily life.
The Ezzy looks like it is trying to build on Gogoro’s success with its 2024 Jego launch, the company’s previous forray into lower cost electric scooters. The Jego was a massive success and wound up resulting in around 40% of the company’s sales. Now the Ezzy looks to keep the good vibes rolling in a sleek, compact, and intuitive package.
The scooter features a rounded, minimalist body with a durable front panel and straightforward controls. Practicality is the guiding principle: a 68 cm (27 inch) long seat, spacious footwell, and a 28 liter (7.4 gallon) under-seat storage compartment, which the company says is large enough for two helmets – if they’re a 3/4 and a half helmet. Put it all together, and the features sound like they should make the Ezzy ideal for urban errands or weekend jaunts. Add in a built-in cupholder and flip-out footrests, and you’ve got a scooter designed to seamlessly slot into everyday routines with one or two riders aboard.
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The design is cute, but it’s under the panels where Gogoro usually tries to set itself apart. Ezzy is powered by a new hub motor capable of speeds up to 68 km/h (42 mph), high enough for city traffic while keeping maintenance low. The last time I was scootering around in Taipei, those speeds felt like plenty on the congested streets.
And while Gogoro’s scooters have long been impressive, the most important part of the company’s offerings isn’t even its rides, it’s how they’re powered. Ezzy integrates directly into Gogoro’s famed battery-swapping network, which includes thousands of swap stations around Taiwan.
Riders can skip charging downtime by swapping depleted packs at GoStation kiosks, which regularly see hundreds of thousands of battery swaps every day.
Electrek’s Take
In terms of performance, Ezzy strikes a balance. It’s not built for speed demons, but it likely won’t bog down in traffic either. It’s not overflowing with gadgets, yet includes thoughtful features that matter – cup holder, flip-out footrests, and room for two helmets. At around US $2,000 retail before subsidies, it’s clearly aimed at broadening access to smart two-wheeling in dense cities. And since the combustion engine scooters still dominate cities in most countries, making electric alternatives more affordable is a key part of displacing those heavy polluters.
This feels less like a normal launch and more like a strategic pivot for Gogoro. While the company’s premium Smartscooters – like the sports car-inspired Pulse or high-performance SuperSport – are impressive, they’re also spendy and niche. Ezzy, by contrast, looks like what Gogoro might want every city overpopulated by cars to embrace: a stylish, comfortable, and economical electric scooter that’s accessible to the masses.
It’s still early days and Gogoro hasn’t confirmed availability beyond Taiwan, but enthusiasm for affordable, swappable-battery electric scooters is growing. If Ezzy finds even moderate success in its initial market, it could pave the way for Gogoro to expand its smart ecosystem deeper into urban centers worldwide.
In short, Ezzy may not be a headline-grabbing performance machine, but that’s exactly the point. Sometimes progress happens not with fireworks, but with smart, thoughtful moves that make electric mobility more attainable for everyone. And that’s an evolution worth riding along with.
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The e-bike industry in the West has long been a tale of two territories. North Americans enjoy higher speeds and power limits for their electric bicycles while Europeans are held to much stricter (i.e. slower and lower) speed and power limits. However, things might change based on current discussions on rewriting European e-bike regulations.
New power levels are not totally without precedent, either. The UK briefly considered doubling its own e-bike power limit from 250 watts (approximately 1/3 horsepower) to 500 watts, though the move was ultimately abandoned.
But this time, the call for more power is coming from within the house – i.e., Germany. The Germans are the undisputed leaders and trend setters in the European e-bike market, accounting for around two million sales of e-bikes per year. Home to leading e-bike drive makers like Bosch, the country has yet another advantage when it comes to making – or regulating – waves in the industry.
And while there aren’t any pending law changes, the largest German trade organization ZIV (Zweirad-Industrie-Verband), which is highly influential in achieving such changes, is now discussing what it believes could be pertinent updates to current EU electric bike regulations.
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Some of the new regulations involve creating rules maxing out power at levels such as 400% or 600% of the human pedaling input. But a key component of the proposed plan includes changing the present day power limit of e-bikes from 250W of continuous power at the motor to 750W of peak power at the drive wheel.
The difference includes some nuance, since continuous power is often considered more of a nominal figure, meaning nearly every e-bike motor in Europe wears a “250W” or less sticker despite often outputting a higher level of peak power. Even Bosch, which has to walk the tight and narrow as a leader in the European e-bike drive market, shared that its newest models of motors are capable of peak power ratings in the 600W level. That’s still far from the commonly 1,000W to 1,300W peak power seen in US e-bike motors, but offers a nice boost over an actual 250W motor.
Other new regulations up for discussion include proposals to limit fully-loaded cargo e-bike weights to either 250 kg (550 lb) for two-wheelers or 300 kg (660 lb) for e-bikes with more than two wheels. As road.cc explained, ZIV also noted that, “separate framework conditions and parameters must be defined for cargo bikes weighing more than 300 kg (see EN 17860-4:2025) as they differ significantly from EPACs and bicycles in their dynamics, design and operation.” Such heavy-duty cargo e-bikes, which often more closely resemble small delivery vans than large cargo bikes, are becoming more common in the industry and have raised concerns about cargo e-bike bloat, especially in dedicated cycling paths.
It’s too early to say whether European e-bike regulations will actually change, but the fact that key industry voices with the power to influence policy are openly advocating for it suggests that new rules for the European market are a real possibility.
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