Transit Festival – Celebrate 60 Years of an Icon
August 9, 2025, is a huge milestone in the history of the world’s best-selling van, the Ford Transit.
The date marks the 60th birthday of a commercial vehicle icon. From the very first minute, the Transit van has empowered professionals and championed businesses and communities.
I spent part of my career predicting the future or “residual” value of vans, and I’m still fascinated by the numbers surrounding them.
The year 2025 is also significant to me as I complete four decades of working in, living in and breathing the van industry. During that 40 years I’ve seen Transit come to define the world of light commercial vehicles.
I’m a child of the early 1960s and my memories of life back then are a little hazy, but, as I became interested in vehicles during the 1970s, spotting a Transit became an everyday occurrence. Soon, all panel vans were identified by young Tim as “a Transit”.
Over 13,000,000 Ford Transits have been produced during the past six decades. This remarkable feat equates to a new van rolling off the production line every two-and-a-half minutes, non-stop, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I’m told that if you parked every single one bumper-to-bumper, they could encircle not just the globe, but the moon too.
As Transit fans and van geeks like me around the world celebrate its 60th birthday, my own obsession with vans has led me to scour the archives to uncover more astounding figures that shine a light on Transit’s legacy.
“I’ve seen Transit come to define the world of light commercial vehicles.”Tim Cattlin, freelance van industry consultant and content writer
A European success story
The numbers that Transit has achieved in Europe illustrate how it has become an integral and vital part of the fabric of both commerce and the community. Of the 13 million Transits produced globally, 10.1 million have been built in plants in Europe and Türkiye, providing jobs and contributing locally and nationally to economies.
Four times as many Transits rolled off European production lines in Europe and Türkiye in 2024 compared to the first full year back in 1966, but the growth in sales numbers in recent years I find particularly impressive. Between 2014 and 2024, sales of the Transit and Transit Custom in Europe grew by a huge 52 per cent 1 and almost one in five 1-tonne and 2-tonne vans sold in Europe in 2024 was a Transit or Transit Custom. 1
In fact, on average, somewhere in Europe, a new Transit hit the road approximately every 2 minutes last year. The van market often closely tracks GDP and economic growth… growth that benefits us all.
The Transit Custom has, for 11 consecutive years, been the UK’s best-selling van and, when I looked into this more closely, the Transit Custom has, at times, outsold every other model of vehicle in the UK, including cars. Not only this, Transit or Transit Custom have been the UK’s best-selling van for an incredible 59 years.
No compromises, just versatility
“Every shopkeeper, contractor, ambulance driver, builder, baker or candlestick or holiday maker, can find his own special requirements in Ford Transit”, said Ford’s original press announcement from 1965. And how true this still is. Transit has never been about “one size fits all”.
During my lifetime the number of Transit variants available has skyrocketed. Now, in 2025, there are over 1,300 variations of the 2-tonne Transit available to order. Not just different body sizes, but a choice of powertrains including electric, trim levels, and load- or passenger-carrying capabilities.
But the Ford Pro online configurator is just the start. Across 18 European markets, there are 217 Ford Pro Converter Partners that can create bespoke, one-off vehicles matched to the customer’s specific requirements – from welfare vans for workers operating on a remote site to a “cable car” equipped with winches to help dock enormous container ships.
Non-stop evolution
I’ve found a copy of the original Transit brochure from 1965, and I can see the first Transits had a maximum payload up to approximately 1,700 kg. Compare that to today’s Transit panel van, which has a capacity of up to 2,400 kg. 2
However, today’s developments go far beyond load capacity.
In 2024, Transit’s connection to the FORDLiive uptime system handed back to businesses 822,000 additional days of vehicle availability across Europe. That’s not just a number, it’s days of work that didn’t get interrupted, deliveries that weren’t delayed, and projects that stayed on track.
Over the past 15 years, I’ve witnessed the interest in electric vans grow from them being used by a small number of early adopters, to today’s rapid sales rises. I’ve also seen that many van users are being cautious in their transition to zero tailpipe emission operation, often citing range and payload limitations. Ford’s E-Transit can travel up to 402 km before being recharged. 3 But, if the priority is payload, there are E-Transit vans that can carry more than 1,600 kg. 2 Maybe that’s why it was Europe’s bestselling 2-tonne electric van last year. 1
“Every shopkeeper, contractor, ambulance driver, builder, baker or candlestick or holiday maker, can find his own special requirements in Ford Transit.”Ford in 1965
We’re all used to vans having more power these days, and looking back at the very first Transit the engine delivered a little over 43 PS. Compare that to the 269 PS in today’s highest-powered E-Transit. And while you can’t walk into a showroom and buy the electric Ford SuperVan 4.2 with its 2,000 PS of power, the fruits of technological research and development continue to filter down to the vans that we are relying on today and tomorrow.
Some of these numbers are pretty staggering, and researching them has made me realise that Transit is so much more than a van.
Yes, there’s lots of nostalgia. I recall my very early days in the industry taking Transits in part-exchange that had many stories to tell. And that brings me to the owners whose livelihoods depended on the van, and their customers who relied on the milk being delivered, or their leaking roof being fixed.
Also, of course, those involved in the design, manufacture, sales and maintenance of the Transit. Millions of people in the workplace and community who have been involved in some way over the past six decades.
Here’s to the next 60 years. And a final, fun fact to end on – apparently, you can fit 236,000 ping-pong balls into the back of a Transit L4 H3 van, should you feel the need. Just be careful when opening the doors...
Tim Cattlin is a freelance van industry consultant and content writer.
Join us on Saturday, September 20, 11:00 – 19:00, at the Chelmsford City Racecourse, Essex, for our first-ever Transit Festival– a day dedicated to an icon.
1 Full year figures from S&P Global, formerly IHS Markit Insight. Austria, Belgium, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland.
2 Max payload varies and is based on accessories and vehicle configuration. See label on doorjamb for carrying capacity of a specific vehicle. Always properly secure cargo.
3 Up to 402 km driving range based on full charge of E-Transit with enhanced range option. Estimated range using Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). Figures shown are for comparability purposes and should only be compared with other vehicles tested to the same technical procedures. The actual range may vary due to various factors (e.g. weather conditions, driving style, route profile, vehicle condition, age and condition of the lithium-ion battery).
