Ford is slowly refreshing its light commercial vehicle lineup in Europe but it looks like the US market is sticking with the company’s legacy products for now. In fact, the Transit Connect van faces an uncertain future as a new report suggests it could be discontinued by the end of next year.
Automotive News has a new article based on insider information from “three people with knowledge” who claim Ford has changed its original plans to build the next-generation Transit Connect in Mexico. Codenamed V758, the model will be developed on the same architecture that underpins the Maverick and Bronco Sport and manufactured at Ford’s Hermosillo Assembly Plant in Mexico.
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However, the automaker has reportedly changed its mind and has decided to discontinue Transit Connect after 2023 when production for the US market in Mexico will be discontinued. For now, it’s unclear whether the van will get a direct successor or Ford will simply try to migrate potential future customers to the larger Transit vans. For the record, the full-size Transit is now also available with a full electric powertrain.
Ford’s LCV strategy in Europe is very different. The company Blue oval launched a new generation of Tourneo Connect recently, which is basically an updated and slightly reengineered version of the Volkswagen Caddy. All the hardware is shared between the two, including the turbocharged petrol and diesel engines. Ford calls these units the EcoBoost and EcoBlue, respectively, even though they are essentially Volkswagen’s TSI and TDI four-cylinder engines.
Ford is also testing a plug-in hybrid version of the new Tourneo Connect and is working on a cargo version of the same model. However, it appears that neither of these light commercial vehicles will be sold in the United States. The new Ranger truck, however, will be available in America, but the mechanically linked VW Amarok will only be sold in Europe.
