THE
FORD TRANSIT
INTRODUCTION BY RICHARD PARRY-JONES
When we introduced the first Ford
Transit in 1965, we could not have imagined the impact that this
unassuming van would have on so many lives. We often tend to take
vehicles like the Transit for granted since they are part and
parcel-hauling parcel of everyday life -- delivering goods,
supporting emergency services or taking people to work and back.
Transit is our longest running nameplate in Europe, and one that is
increasingly supporting more customers and their businesses in
expanding markets around the world.
When we began working on the new Ford
Transit, we started with the best base in the business -- the
current Transit -- but with the knowledge that our customers are
demanding more and more from their commercial vehicles. They want
outstanding payload and loadbox functionality. They want low cost of
ownership and excellent durability. They want a vehicle that they
could feel relaxed and confident driving for hours on end, whatever
the prevailing conditions. Not only was the challenge to engineer
innovation and excellence into every aspect of our new van, but to
do it twice. We had to satisfy an increasingly diverse set of
requirements of one and two-tonne segment commercial vehicle
operators. And we had to do this for potential customers around the
world.
The new Ford Transit is an ingenious
example of more than innovative and lateral thinking. What have
emerged are two different vehicles for two different customer
segments. Yet these two vehicles share one platform with more than
95 percent commonality. More to the point, we believe that both
remain true to the Transit heritage that made it such a success
while increasing the utility for both groups.
