Ford Transit

The Ford Transit is a van produced by the European division of the Ford Motor Company. The Transit's design is reflected in other manufacturers' designs, like the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

It was originally introduced in 1965, and has been in continuous production in three basic generations to the present day (2005). The van was produced initially at Ford's Langley facility in Berkshire (a former WW2 aircraft factory which produced the Hawker Hurricane fighter), but as demand outstripped the capability of the plant, production was moved to Southampton, where it has remained ever since. Transits have also been produced in Ford's Genk factory in Belgium. The Transit is also produced in China for the Chinese market.

The Mk.1 Transit was introduced to replace the Ford Thames 400E, a small Zephyr based forward-control van noted for its narrow track which was in direct competition with similar looking vehicles from Rootes's Commer range. The Thames failed to win over company users in significant enough numbers, so Ford went back to the drawing board. Henry Ford II's revolutionary step was to combine the engineering effort of Ford of Britain, and Ford of Germany together to create a prototype for the Ford of Europe of today - previously the two subsidiaries had been in direct competition with each other.