14/09/2020
Ford New Zealand and Singer Electrify Dealership Network in Preparation for the Arrival of Europe’s Best-Selling PHEV – The All-New Ford Escape PHEV, and New Zealand’s Only PHEV Van – The Transit Custom
Ford New Zealand partners with Singer Group Ltd to provide dealership charging stations and customer charging solutions ahead of the arrival of all-new Ford Escape PHEVs and Ford Transit Custom PHEVs
Ford Dealership sales and service teams train up on new PHEV technology and charging solutions
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, 14 September 2020 – Ahead the arrival of the all-new Ford Escape PHEVs and Transit Custom PHEVs, Ford New Zealand has partnered with Singer Group Limited to prepare its network of dealerships around the country with dealership charging stations and customer home or business charging solutions.
Ford will soon be welcoming the addition of the All New Escape PHEV in two variants – the Escape FWD PHEV and the Escape FWD ST-Line X PHEV. In addition, Ford is also looking forward to offering both a Transit Custom SWB PHEV van and an 8-seater Transit Tourneo Titanium PHEV.
Phase one of the Ford and Singer partnership includes dealerships installing on-site charging station. Sales and Service Staff across all dealerships will be trained on the PHEV technologies. Sales and service teams are also being trained up on how to use the chargers and in talking to customers about charging options at their home or business.
John Andrew Ford in Auckland was 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,” said Simon Rutherford, Managing Director, Ford New Zealand. “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 for our dealer network charging station installs and customer referral program made great sense,” added Rutherford. “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.”
Home and Business Charging Stations
The Singer installed charging stations are compatible with both Type I and Type II connections. Most Ford dealerships will be installing the faster 22 KW AC chargers on their forecourts, future proofing for full electric vehicles (BEVs) coming. 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 just how simple it is to plug in their new Ford PHEV. The Ford Head Office will also be installing a charging station.
The charging stations can be networked back to Singer, where they can monitor and report back on consumption as well as lock or unlock the station remotely.
“It’s a fairly simple procedure and straightforward charging unit, which is another reason we went with Singer,” said Rutherford. “Our focus is always on the customer experience and we want to ensure the charging process is simple and easy to use. And it is. If you can plug in a TV, you can plug in your Ford.”
Ford sales and service teams will be able to refer customers to Singer for their home or business installations. Singer will conduct site assessments with the customer and put together a plan for connecting the charging station at their site.
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*Source: EV Volumes, Clean Technica, Ford Kuga/Escape PHEV was best-selling PHEV in Europe for both June and July 2020, reported July 2020
