The Ford Transit range for 2014 is now complete with the arrival this week of the Ford Transit Courier.

Commercial vehicles sales in this country are hitting the high numbers with an increase of 36% for the first six months compared to the same period last year. This is a good barometer of the improving state of the economy in general. With the recent arrival of the all new Transit Courier van, Ford chiefs are predicting further growth and now the full new Ford Transit range is now available in Ireland.

Speaking about the completion of the new range, Eddie Murphy, Chairman and Managing Director of Ford Ireland, said this week: “Our new Transit range is arriving into a rebounding commercial vehicle market in Ireland that is significantly outpacing the growth in the car market. Year to date, van sales have increased by some 36 percent while car sales are up 23 percent.  The outlook is for that level of CV sales to continue as buyers who have put off renewing or upgrading their vehicles are increasingly coming back to the market.

“Over the past two years, we have totally revamped the Transit line up with fully redesigned models that integrate the latest technologies and utilise the most fuel-efficient engines that we have ever developed to deliver class leading total cost of ownership within the commercial vehicle sector.

“The Transit nameplate has been Ireland’s favourite van since it first arrived here in the 1960s.  Since then, it has been the number one choice of Ireland’s van drivers and fleet operators.  Fans of Transit have always cited its reliability, versatility and great value for money as key attributes and now all of those award-winning features are available from the fully revamped Transit range, going from the jumbo 2-tonne Transit right down to the compact urban delivery vehicle that is our newest model, the new Transit Courier,” added Eddie Murphy.

In ascending order of size, the new Transit range is comprised of the Transit Courier with a payload of up to 660kg, the Transit Connect up to 1,004kg, the Transit Custom up to 1,507kg and the two- ton Transit with a maximum payload of up to 2,281kg.
For the Irish market, Transit Courier is available in two series: Base and Trend with the choice of powertrains 1.5 litre 75PS TDCi or 1.6 litre 95PS TDCi and prices start from €13,990 including VAT.

For the Transit Connect the main powertrain for the Irish market is the 1.6-litre Duratorq TDCi diesel with a choice of 75, 95 and 115 PS offering best in class fuel efficiency (4.0l/100km). Transit Connect is available in two series: Base and Trend and prices start from €15,700 including VAT.

The most popular model from the Transit range, the Ford Transit Custom achieved a rare double when it carried off both the International Van of the Year and Continental Irish Van of the Year titles in 2013.  And in another significant ‘first’, it was the first van to achieve a Euro NCAP 5 Star Safety Rating.

Powered by Ford’s latest 2.2-litre Duratorq TDCi diesel engine (100, 125 and 155PS), with combined fuel consumption of 6.6 l / 100 km (42.8 mpg) and 174 g/km CO2 emissions – a reduction of up to 8 percent on the equivalent current Transit. Available in both Base and Trend series, Transit Custom is priced from €22,650 including VAT.

Simply named ‘Transit’, the largest member of the Transit family, is the vehicle of choice when the need is for a bigger carrying capacity. The standard Transit powertrain features the fuel-efficient 2.2-litre Duratorq diesel engine with a choice of three power ratings (100PS, 125PS, 155PS) and a 6-speed manual transmission. Again available in both Base and Trend series, Transit is priced from €25,300 including VAT.

“This new range of state-of-the-art commercial vehicles puts Ford in an excellent position to maintain its leading role in the market in Ireland.  And with a range of offers such as 4 year / 150,000km warranty and a great low rate APR of 3.9 percent on selected models – there really has never been a better time to upgrade to a new Ford Transit model”, concluded Mr. Murphy.