Triumphant Transit hits the road

EurotaxGlass’s has taken a critical look at the new Ford Transit and confidently predicts that it will maintain its long-standing position as the UK’s most popular light commercial vehicle.

The power of the Transit brand means that the launch of a new model is widely regarded as one of the most significant events in the entire commercial vehicle marketplace. The Ford Transit has been sitting at the top of the commercial vehicle sales league for 40 years, and so strong is the name that the public often use it as a generic tag to describe any panel van. The launch of a new model is significant because it can threaten the market position of every rival manufacturer.

“With their market leadership, Ford is painfully aware of the importance of getting this launch right,” says George Alexander, Chief Commercial Vehicle Editor at EurotaxGlass’s. “With all due credit to Ford, we can report that it’s done it once again and has launched a new Transit that is surely destined to be a big success.”

He continues: “EurotaxGlass’s believes that the new Transit will keep Ford’s market leadership crown firmly in place within the fleet sector, and it should remain so over the remainder of this decade.”

Significantly improved over the previous model which itself dominated the UK fleet van scene, the 2006 Transit combines traditional ‘work-horse’ strengths with a truly car-like driving experience. EurotaxGlass’s predicts that the new model will deliver both sector and market leadership and secure for Ford the accolade of best fleet panel van.

“There will be no shortage of customers who will choose to remain loyal to the Blue Oval,” says Alexander. “This is despite the market being offered an outstanding array of competitive panel vans from rival manufacturers.”

Key to the vehicles success will be strong dealer support coupled with competitive pricing, low running costs, excellent residual values and strong driver acceptability. Additionally, Ford will offer a wide choice of engines, bodies and derivatives that will amply cater for every transport application.