Ford Transit: 60 Years as Europe’s Trusted Business Partner

DUNTON, UK – Did you know that the first Ford Transit van rolled off the production line at Ford’s facility in Langley, UK, on August 9, 1965? At the time, few could have predicted the impact this new van would have for businesses and economies during the coming decades.

In fact, if van-powered businesses were an EU member state, they would have been the sixth largest by GDP in 2023 – larger than member states including Austria, Ireland or Sweden, according to a report commissioned by Ford Pro and published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr).

In 2025, as Transit celebrates 60 years in continuous production, Transit and the vans it inspired are at the heart of economic growth across Europe. From the local roofer or beekeeper, through to national parcel delivery and courier services, Transit continues to be a trusted partner.

“During the past 60 years ‘Transit’ has become a byword for getting the job done,” said Hans Schep, general manager, Ford Pro, Europe. “Sometimes highly visible, other times working hard out of sight – for six decades Transit has been powering the businesses and services that keep our world moving.” 

Van-related businesses contributed around €1 trillion to the economy across the EU and the UK as recently as 2023, according to Cebr report, The Economics of Commercial Van Usage Across Europe 2024.

The report estimated the contribution of van-related business was growing, with a 27.4 per cent increase since 2017 and a 6.5 per cent increase since 2021 – a stronger performance than in many other sectors which did not primarily depend on vans.

The report also estimated van-related activity outgrew the EU economy as a whole between 2021 and 2023. And if van-powered businesses were an EU member state, they would have been the sixth largest by GDP, after Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.

Small businesses such as mobile coffee companies and florists comprise 99 per cent of firms in the EU and are a driving force behind economic growth. Similarly, the Transit family of vans that supports them is a key component behind Ford Pro’s success as Europe’s leading commercial vehicle brand for the past 10 years.

Ford Pro now also offers electrified variants of every van in the Transit family, including the

E-Transit – Europe’s best-selling all-electric two-tonne van, and E-Transit Custom – the all-electric version of Europe’s best-selling one-tonne van.

This new generation of Transits is continuing the iconic van’s status as the trusted business partner in the electric era, and helping customers transition their fleets to benefit from the reduced cost of ownership offered by electric vehicles. The Cebr report estimated small businesses could save €14,000 per van over three years by switching to electric vans.