'Big Bang' Paying Big Dividends for Ford in Europe

MADRID – Ford has hit its target of becoming Europe’s leading seller of light-commercial vehicles, and it’s working to keep the momentum going by refreshing its lineup.

The automaker in 2012 unveiled its so-called Big Bang strategy to become the continent’s No.1 LCV seller, a move that included overhauling the Transit Custom, Transit Courier, Transit Connect and Transit. It claims to have achieved market leadership in 2015 with a 13.6% share of European sales in the segment, ahead of Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Renault and Fiat.

The strategy began paying off when the Transit Custom became the region’s top seller in the 1-ton segment in 2015 and has held that status since then. Ford has been particularly successful in Spain and Portugal, where sales more than tripled from 8,400 units in 2013 to 28,000 in the first 10 months of 2017, says Antonio Chicote, manager of Ford LCVs for the two countries.

To meet anticipated demand in coming years, Ford announced in August it was spending €44 million ($53 million) to expand production capacity of Transit, Transit Custom and Tourneo Custom models at its Ford Otosan joint venture in Turkey from 290,000 units a year to 330,000.

The Tourneo Custom is the passenger version of the Transit Connect.

To sustain the Big Bang’s success, the automaker is refreshing its Transit Custom with new exterior styling meant to resemble Ford cars, a reconfigured instrument panel, up to 0.9 cu.-ft. (25 L) of additional space for the driver, more storage areas and SYNC 3 or MyFord Dock options for connecting electronic devices.

The reworked Transit Custom is the first Ford LCV that incorporates intelligent speed assist, a driver-activated feature which automatically limits the vehicle’s top speed by recognizing traffic signs and signals that indicate the speed limit. The 1-ton van also has blindspot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and improved pre-collision assist with pedestrian-detection emergency braking.

The new technologies are added to those already available in the previous version Transit Custom, including lane-keeping alert, driver alert and adaptive cruise control.

Ford says it will begin producing in 2019 a plug-in hybrid version of the Transit Custom that  combines an electric motor with a battery-only range of 30 miles (50 km) and an EcoBoost 1.0L gasoline engine. Testing of the PHEV powertrain is under way in London.

Meanwhile, the Transit Custom will continue to use the EcoBlue diesel engine in 105-, 130- and 170-hp configurations that was introduced into the Transit family in 2016. Ford engineers claim the engine provides up to 20% more torque at low engine speeds and a 13% improvement in fuel consumption compared with the previous 2.2L diesel.

The updated Transit Custom offers a new ECOnetic variant that delivers 148 g/km of carbon-dioxide emissions and 5.7 L/100 km (49.6 mpg) fuel efficiency, a 6% improvement over the most-efficient current vehicle. Available for the short-wheelbase van, this ECOnetic features the 105-hp engine with stop-start, low-rolling-resistance tires, and a fixed top speed of 62 mph (100 km/h).

There are no changes to body versions: normal- or double-cabin van, Kombi and Mixed, with two roof heights, two wheelbase options and GVW ranging from 2.6 to 3.4 tons, with load capacities that reach 3,190 lbs. (1,450 kg).