Ford is preparing to celebrate the 60th anniversary of one of the brand’s most iconic models, the Transit, and to highlight the importance of this model, Ford commissioned a study that shows the significance of the Transit van in the growth of the European economy across various activities over the past decades.
The study conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research shows that since the launch of the first generation on August 9, 1965, the Transit and the other vans derived from it have been at the center of economic growth throughout Europe.
From the local baker or beekeeper to national parcel delivery services or express mail, the Transit remains the van of choice.
Furthermore, the study estimated that van-related activity outperformed the EU economy as a whole between 2021 and 2023. If the businesses whose activity is based on vans were an EU Member State, they would have been the sixth largest in terms of GDP, right behind Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands.
“In the last 60 years, ‘Transit’ has become synonymous with a job well done,” said Hans Schep, General Director of Ford Pro, Europe. “Sometimes very visible, other times working hard behind the scenes, for six decades the Transit has powered the businesses and services that keep our world moving.”
The first Transit van rolled off the Ford production line in Langley, UK, in 1965, with the aim of helping businesses do more, with greater efficiency and comfort. To achieve this, the first generation of the Transit featured a flat load floor which allowed for more space and easier loading, and the front-mounted engine provided a driving experience similar to that of a car.
Although the first three months of Transit production focused on building short wheelbase vans, these were quickly followed by more versatile variants, including long wheelbase, chassis-cab, minibuses, and kombi versions, which supported a wide range of uses, just as they do today.
The success of the Transit van was such that in 1966, the major fleet operators that relied on the Ford Transit included police forces, railway and gas companies, and even military, with Ford’s Special Vehicle Operations division, just like today, able to quickly respond to requests for niche versions of the Transit for exclusive functions.
Currently, Ford Pro offers a range of Transit variants that also include electric versions of all vans in the Transit family, including the E-Transit, the best-selling 100% electric two-ton van in Europe, and the E-Transit Custom, the fully electric version of the best-selling one-ton van in Europe.
