Ford Pro, a section of Ford’s company that makes services for commercial fleet customers, has launched a comprehensive solution for commercial EV charging. The innovative Ford Pro Charging program will help reduce the severity of the complex transition from ICE to EV fleets with software and commercial hardware infrastructure offered to support charging and energy management needs.

“Customers are saying, ‘We want the E-Transit and F-150 Lightning Pro, but how are we going to charge and operate them efficiently once they’re in our fleet?’” said Ted Cannis, CEO of Ford Pro. “They are depending on us to provide the electric vehicles and the integrated solutions that they need for charging and connectivity. Ford Pro Charging is focused on helping our customers plan for, operate and deploy charging solutions so they can reduce operating costs and improve efficiency.”

Ford Pro Charging offers a comprehensive solution that starts with site review and design consultations to determine how many and the type of chargers required, and additional service to manage the installation of commercial-grade charging tools.

Ford Pro Charging is utilizing data streams from today’s connected Ford commercial vehicles to better anticipate and manage the operational needs of electrified fleets. The software interprets how each fleet operates, and creates charging management plans based on those behaviors—like for determining the best times to charge based on available energy rates.

“Our current fleet of connected vehicles allow us to learn from existing fleet behaviors so we can build the right infrastructure and the right charge management software,” says Muffi Ghadiali, head of Ford Pro Charging. “Let’s say the customer fleet returns around 10 pm, planning to go back out starting at 5 am. You have a limited window for charging, and have to make charging decisions in a highly dynamic environment. Does every vehicle need to be fully charged? Can we balance charge power against the available charging window to take advantage of low overnight energy rates? Ford Pro Charging accounts for a multitude of variables and controls each charge station precisely to optimize energy costs and ensure vehicle uptime.”

While it’s true that some fleets really benefit from the control and certainty of depot chargers on company property, others may not desire to make an investment in depot charging infrastructure. Ford Pro Charging provides access to over 70,000 public charging ports, with over 3,200 DC fast charging stations, officially on the Blue Oval Charging Network. For fleet drivers who need overnight charging for their vehicles, Ford Pro has a solution that includes home charger installation and software for tracking and reporting driver reimbursement.