The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by Ford since 1965, mainly as a cargo van but also as a large passenger van, minibus, cutaway chassis and pickup. The passenger versions have been sold as the Ford Tourneo in some markets since 1995.
Ford Transit at a glance
| Maker | Ford of Europe, later worldwide |
|---|---|
| Production | since 1965 |
| Predecessor | Taunus Transit FK 1000, from 1953 |
| Platform generations | 1965, 1986, 2000 and 2013 |
| Also known as | Ford T-Series (T-150, T-250, T-350) |
| Passenger versions | Tourneo name from 1995 |
| Sales by 2015 | 8 million vans |
| European record | best-selling light commercial vehicle for forty years |
| North America | replaced the E-Series from 2015 |
| Other uses | minibus, chassis cab and pickup |
This page is based on English Wikipedia only.
History of the Ford Transit
The Taunus Transit before it
The first production Ford to wear the Transit badge was not British but German: a van built at Ford’s Cologne plant, introduced in 1953 as the FK 1000, carrying 1,000 kg and using the 1.2-litre side-valve engine from the contemporary Taunus. In 1955 the engine grew to 1.5 litres, and from 1961 the vehicle was called the Ford Taunus Transit. Production of that model ended in 1965, the year the modern Transit arrived.
The first product of Ford of Europe
The Transit was the first product of the merged Ford of Europe, marketed at first in Western Europe and Australia. It has been produced across four basic platform generations, debuting in 1965, 1986, 2000 and 2013, with various facelift versions of each, and has been sold as cargo van, large passenger van, minibus, cutaway chassis and pickup. In some markets the passenger versions have been sold as the Ford Tourneo since 1995, and the vehicle is also known as the Ford T-Series, a nomenclature shared with the F-Series trucks and the E-Series chassis.
The best-selling van
By 2015 eight million Transit vans had been sold, making it the third best-selling van of all time. By the end of the twentieth century it was marketed almost globally except in North America, where it replaced the E-Series van in 2015 and quickly became the best-selling van of any type, minivans included. That mirrors its record in Europe, where it has been the best-selling light commercial vehicle for forty years, and in some countries the word Transit has passed into common usage as a generic term for any van of its size.
Design and features
- Ford of Europe’s first car: the first product of the merged European company.
- Four platforms: new generations in 1965, 1986, 2000 and 2013.
- Many bodies: cargo, passenger, minibus, chassis cab and pickup.
- Generic name: used in some countries for any van of this size.
Ford Transit versions
- Taunus Transit (1953–1965): the German predecessor, FK 1000.
- Cargo van: the main Transit body.
- Tourneo: the passenger version name from 1995.
- T-Series (T-150 to T-350): the North American naming.
- Minibus and chassis cab: the specialist versions.
The Transit replaced the Taunus Transit and, in North America, the Econoline; it also sat above the smaller light commercials such as the Ranger pickup. More Ford vehicles are in the Ford collection.
Sources
- Ford Transit, English Wikipedia: origins, generations, sales, markets
