America’s businesses turn to Ford vans as economy grows; Ford vans are top sellers in 47 states Ford.com
Sept. 9, 2015
More than half of commercial van customers in the United States in the first six months of 2015 bought a Ford van – Transit, Transit Connect or E-Series
Ford is the fastest-growing brand in the commercial van market, driving 80 percent of the segment’s growth in the first half of 2015, according to Ford analysis of new vehicle registrations from IHS Automotive
Top-selling commercial van in 47 states is a Ford van
DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 9, 2015 – Growing businesses are increasingly turning to Ford commercial vans, making Ford the largest and fastest-growing manufacturer of commercial vans in the United States in the first half of 2015, according to Ford analysis of IHS new vehicle registrations through June.
Ford vans have been America’s best-selling commercial vans for 36 years, helping businesses transport equipment to job sites, shuttle passengers to their destinations and more. The new Transit, which went on sale just last summer, can be converted to serve as emergency response vehicles, food trucks and mobile dog grooming studios.
Businesses can choose from 58 vehicle configurations with the introduction of a dual sliding door option on the 2016 Transit van, meaning the vehicle with the most configurations in its class just got even more flexible.
A side effect here is that people often prefer to shop one brand or another in the commercial fleets sales world. So, just like more F-Series sales translates into better opportunities for the Transit more Transit sales do the exact same thing for the F-Series.
For a host of reasons before BK GM didn't have the money to invest in vans. They sold off the medium duty truck business. After BK the Auto Task Force didn't want GM to invest in light trucks, vans and SUVs because they were politically incorrect. The Opdyke Road truck plant was closed, torn down and is now a green field. Once the Treasury got concerned about selling its shares, they recognized the profit was in SUVs so they had to tolerate them. Now GM needs to play catch up.
I have rented full size Ford vans and GMC/Chevrolet and it pains me to admit that the Ford vans are superior.
GM didn't sell off the medium duty business. They just closed it down and that happened after the BK/Bailout. The reason being, the 560 medium duty trucks weren't profitable for GM.
Great news, smart business to own. And as some of you have pointed out, if a business is going to have a fleet, makes sense for them all to be the same brand.
Question, is there a Transit cut-away to replace the E-series?
I wonder if Ford would consider an even smaller van for Europe. PSA and Fiat have the tiny Bipper / Nemo / Qubo, but the Transit Connect is a step up from those. Seems like they'd be smart to leverage their commercial vehicle success with a smaller model. They have the Fiesta 'business' model, but maybe a C-Max version would be better?
It's worth keeping in mind that the GM vans are currently in shorter supply because of the Colorado being built in the same plant.
There's probably a number of businesses who would have waited to jump ship, but that are more or less being forced to go with the Transit now. I don't see those customers coming back even after the supply situation improves. Maybe GM could have used pricing to their advantage, or sold to fleet managers that are gun-shy about an all-new model, but the tight supply is probably accelerating the migration. Retaining a customer who's been buying the same vehicles for 20 years is one thing, but winning them back after they've had something much more modern is going to be very tough, if not impossible.
I've mentioned this before, but it's interesting how Ford went this avenue and GM went with the midsize pickups. At least there are now top-notch American options for these two markets, curious to see if Ford will add a midsize pickup before GM adds a new van.
Now, question the 2nd... should Ford add this to their N.A. lineup? The HHR and PT Cruiser panel versions were never very popular, but they weren't really geared towards true commercial customers either (or designed that way from the beginning). Today there is no market for this size of commercial vehicle, mainly because no one has really tried in recent history, and with gas prices low it's maybe not the best time, but Ford is already rocking the commercial market, so would an entry-level model work?
Id love for ford to offer both the Custom and Courier in addition to the Connect and Transit. Both are built in Turkey like the old Connect so they already have an avenue to bring it over.
How do you get a bloated managed company like the General to move in a timely manner to be in any trending marketplace segment , well frankly , you don't . I think this is why , in being caught with their pants down , they went with a disgusting re-badge of the Nissan transit type vans , in my opinion . A benefit for GM might include the ability to walk away from this brand committment with limited exposure and cost , were sales to be faddish or soft or until GM could ramp up and actually be in this important segment . For a customer buying such this re-badged Nissan , perhaps you don't think this possibility doesn't occur to him ?? What of ; resale value , support , brand awareness.....none of this matters ? Being late for the party , can be trendy and safe , but oh my how you can lose your face !!
or maybe GM does NOT want the commercial truck/van business at ALL and wants to fulfill its dream of being all retail
not to mention a VAN NEEDS to be a custom designed item now days and IMHO GM does NOT want the "RISK" and has NO EU model to import in a pinch so must use the chicken tax free Nissan van
I am seeing this also! It appears GM is gradually backing out of the commercial truck/van business. With GM's high overhead/admin costs they are finding it hard to make a profit in this market. The Luxury and retail truck/SUV markets are much higher margins.
From an Express owner who also often rents Ford Transits I will say this. The only advantage the Transits offer in increased cargo capacity and GVRW.
The Transits are not "more refined" as some have insinuated and both gas V6 offerings are just as much gas hogs as GM'S V8 offerings.
The Express benifits from tow-haul mode standard which is a godsend when you have 3,000 lbs in the back like I often do. The Express also has metal vs plastic bumpers, operates at a lower RPM load, and has a larger gas tank which is great on long trips.
Honestly GM should just develop a new van in house off the K2XX platform and the new LTx engines. It would blow the Transit out of the water.
Hey seeg. Do you use either the Express or the Transit in the real world? No? Didnt think so.
I use them every day. I know what I am talking about. Put some weight in the back of the Transit and let's see that 22 mpg your fantasizing about. And tow haul is not standard on the Transit. These kinds of vehicles are about stripper models used for hard work. Except for the low roof and lowerror GCVW the Express is better suited for what I need out of a work truck. I'm at 190000 miles on original brakes I might add. Express is a great work Van
That's great, but looking at the sales figures, this doesn't seem to be the case for most people, because the GM twins are way down while the Transit is on fire.
Even ignoring the fact that your experience with the refinement of these vehicles contradicts most reviews, the much larger cargo capacity is a pretty big deal in this segment. We're talking 284 cu.ft. for the largest Express vs. 496 cu.ft for the largest Transit. Not a minor difference.
I said the increased cargo capacity was a plus and GM needs to design a new van.
The Transit does not ride well with a significant amount of weight in it. I transport 55 gallon drums of lubricants all the time, often up to 3,000 lbs and sometimes more. The ecoboost handles the load fine but I'm not going to buy an ecoboost because I drive 100,000 miles a year and the ecoboost FE is dismal. The 3.5 standard V6 screams to red line each shift to get to cruising speed.
The Express has standard V8 and standard tow haul mode plus larger tires which comes in handy. It splits the FE better then ecoboost and a little worse the standard V6 but runs much more smoothly then either and is dead reliable.
There's many comments on how it runs and shifts smoothly, even when loaded, which has also been my experience.
And the trailer tow package (which includes a wire harness, connectors, a tap-in trailer brake controller, relays for backup/running lights, trailer sway control, and a frame-mounted hitch receiver, in addition to tow/haul mode) is a $465 option available to all models. So it's not like fleets are breaking the bank if tow/haul mode isn't standard.
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