The Ford Transit, a range of panel vans, minibuses and pickup trucks produced by Ford Motor Company, has seen worldwide sales exceeding 6 million units, marking an important milestone in the brand’s history.
A ceremony was recently held in Nanchang, Jiangxi province to celebrate the milestone, with the presence of important guests including Jiangling Motors top two executives, Chairman Wang Xigao and President Chen Yuanqing as well as Ford (China) Chairman Robert Graziano and Ford’s Vice President of Marketing Sales and Service for Asia Pacific and Africa Dan Morris.
Graziano said at the ceremony that the Transit family has long maintained strong growth in the global commercial vehicle market, with worldwide sales surpassing the 3 million and 6 million marks in 1995 and 2010 respectively, and expects worldwide sales of the product line to top 7 million units in around 2015.
After being introduced into China as a light commercial vehicle by Ford in partnership with Chinese automaker Jiangling Motors in 1997, the Ford Transit reported an annual growth in excess of 30 percent in sales in the country for ten consecutive years, becoming a leading brand in the Chinese high-end commercial vehicle market.
In addition, sales of the series in China increased 72 percent annually to 11,090 units in the first quarter of this year. Adeep understanding of domestic consumer tastes is the key to the success of the brand in the Chinese market, according to industry analysts.
