Ford pulls plug on Fiesta Van… again

Date: Monday, March 14, 2022 | Author: James Dallas

Ford has confirmed it ended production of its compact Fiesta Van in February 2022.

It is the second time the brand has pulled the plug on the car-derived van, having previously withdrawn it from the market in April 2017 only to bring it back the following year in response to what it called growing demand from city-based customers for small petrol vans in particular.

The Fiesta Van was powered by the 1.0-litre 125hp petrol EcoBoost engine and was also available with the 1.5-litre TDCi diesel engine with 120hp until 2020.

When Ford originally called time on the Fiesta Van it said the purpose-built cubed van, the Transit Courier, offered a more practical solution in the compact van sector due to its larger payload and load volume capacities.

This time, however, the brand has stopped making the model because it has also stopped producing the three-door derivative of the Fiesta passenger car, on which the commercial version was based.

A spokesperson said this was due to “complexity reduction” in the range and because the five-door car was by far the bigger seller.

Ford had been planning to introduce a facelifted Fiesta Van early this year in two trim levels, Trend and Sport, priced at £16,715 and £16,790, respectively, excluding VAT. It got a new exterior design, interior upgrades and new driver assistance features. Ford said about 1,200 Fiesta Vans had been built before the production shift led to its withdrawal.

The Fiesta Van’s halcyon days were in the late 1990s with its peak sales year in the UK being 1997, when 4,595 were registered.

Ford is due to launch an E-Transit Courier in 2024.

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