Ford Transit vans will now get Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection autonomous emergency braking as well as a Lane-Keeping system on all Ford Transit Trend, Limited and Trail models from spring next year.

That will mean that 60% of all Transit vans sold across Europe will now get the systems.

Transit Trend trim level vans will also now get Ford’s Quickclear heated windscreen along with auto headlights and rain-sensing windscreen wipers.

Top of the range Limited trim Transit vans will also get new additional standard features, and will include the updated SYNC 4 infotainment system. The 12in touchscreen is a significant upgrade to the current SYNC 3 system with Limited vans also getting a high-mounted rear-view camera with LED downlighter. Limited vans will also get a keyless start system, Ford Power, which the company says will help customers with frequent-stop itineraries.

Additional driver assistance systems will also be added to the range with a new Reverse Brake Assist as well as a 360-degree camera option.

SYNC 4 will enable vans to have Ford Power-Up software updates which remotely upgrades software systems, keeping the van’s technology up-to-date wirelessly and without any involvement needed by the driver.

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Other features of SYNC 4 include cloud-connected live traffic, weather and parking updates, wireless Android Auto or Apple Carplay with two mobile devices connected simultaneously and Advanced Speech Recognition with Conversational Language Commands.

All new Transits now get the FordPass Connect modem fitted as standard which improves vehicle productivity by providing real-time vehicle health data through FORDLiive to keep dealers up to date with the health status of the van. This ensures that any scheduled or unscheduled work can be carried out quickly, reducing the amount of time the van spends off the road.

All upgrades to the Transit range will begin for orders in Q4 of this year.

The new electric Ford E-Transit price will be £42,000 when order books open in October.

The E-Transit gets a choice of two different powered motors with either 135kW or 198kW maximum outputs with 430Nm of torque.

It has a 68kWh usable battery capacity as standard that will provide a claimed driving range of up to 197 miles (317km). The range will be made up of 25 different variants with panel van, double-cab and chassis bodies, all of which will be available with multiple lengths and differing roof heights with gross vehicle weights at 3.5 tonnes as well as 4.25 tonnes.

The E-Transit will also have a unique ProPower Onboard feature that gives up to 2.3kW of power via standard plug sockets in the cab and load area. A feature only previously seen on the Nissan eNV200 it will enable drivers to power tools, lights or laptops as well as conversions such as fridge units. The E-Transit battery will apparently take a charge from 15% to 80% in 34 minutes when connected to a 115kW DC rapid charger while an complete overnight charge from a standard 230-volt AC supply will take around eight hours.

The Ford E-Transit will go on trial with a number of operators across Europe ahead of its launch in spring 2022. Customers include Balfour Beaty, DPD and Ocado.

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E-Transit will be available in two trim levels when it goes on sale with Base and Trend options that exceed the equipment levels on the equivalent diesel model.

Base series vans will get Electronic Air Temperature Control, SYNC 4 with 12in touchscreen, 4 Keyless Start, heated seats, Quickclear windscreen and heated electric mirrors all fitted as standard. There is also always-on connectivity with the FordPass Connect modem, as well as a lifetime subscription to FordPass Pro 6 or Ford Telematics Essentials.