Ford Endeavour Diesel SUV Converted Into Electric Vehicle [Video]
A lot of state governments across India are now pushing car owners to either scrap their old vehicles or convert them into electric vehicles. As a result of this, numerous small companies are now taking on this task of converting old, end-of-life vehicles into electric cars using aftermarket kits. Recently, a video of a second-generation Ford Endeavour, which has been fully converted into an electric vehicle, has been shared online.
This video, showing the driving experience and explanation of the conversion of this Ford Endeavour, has been shared on YouTube by Motormanic on their page. It starts off with the owner of the company mentioning that they previously showcased this particular Ford Endeavour, which came to them for conversion into an electric vehicle. He then added that they finally completed the conversion and are now testing it.
After this brief overview, the person then starts driving the Ford Endeavour with the electric powertrain. He explains that they have removed the internal combustion engine of this Endeavour and have replaced it with an electric motor. Following this, he adds that generally, when such old cars get converted, their essential features stop working.
However, in this particular Endeavour, they have added an auxiliary controller, which runs all the other components such as power windows, power steering pump, air conditioning system, and other electricals. He then also shows the working of these features. Finally, after this, he takes the vehicle on the road and explains more details.
Ford Endeavour electric conversion driving
During the drive, the owner of the EV conversion company highlights that this vehicle gets three gears. In the video, he does not provide the exact high speed of this Ford Endeavour. However, he adds that if a customer requests them to increase the top speed, they can facilitate it. He then states that the only reason not many people opt for higher top speed addition is because of the budget.
As per the owner of the company, generally, these converted electric cars are used in city traffic. Due to not having a higher top speed (70–80 kmph), the range gets higher and the cost reduces. A lot of buyers do not want to spend extra money just to have marginally higher top speed. After showing the driving experience of this Endeavour, the person shows the boot of the vehicle, which had its battery pack, which is a 72W 220 Ah unit that they manufacture in-house.
Certification and legality
As per the owner of this company, this particular Ford Endeavour has not been certified by the RTO. He states that the reason for this is that the certification from the RTO costs a lot of money, which increases the cost for the customer, and at that point, it does not make sense to convert such vehicles. He added that these vehicles are suitable for use in private properties or rural areas where norms are not that strict.
Does it make sense to convert old cars into EVs?
At the moment, such EV conversions are very expensive, so the cost does not make sense to convert the end-of-life cars into EVs. Also, the range on such converted cars is very low, making them less usable. Lastly, they lack certification, which is another issue and can get the vehicle seized.