• New Transit chassis cab derivative with a special low-height chassis is ideal for conversions requiring a low load floor for easy access

• Skeletal chassis also delivers 200 kg weight saving over standard chassis cab for enhanced payload and reduced cost of ownership

• Transit skeletal chassis cab is available to order now from Ford’s network of 950 Transit Centres across Europe

COLOGNE, Germany, July 27, 2018 – Ford is introducing a new Transit skeletal chassis cab derivative that provides commercial vehicle customers with a versatile low-height platform for a wide variety of body conversions – ideal for applications ranging from general delivery and distribution to removals.

Available to order now from Ford’s European network of Transit Centres, the new skeletal Transit offers a chassis height that is 100 mm lower than the standard front-wheel drive chassis cab model, delivering easier access to the load floor with a lower step height, and removing the need for a separate tail lift.

With a 200 kg weight reduction compared to the equivalent chassis cab, the optimised design of the skeletal chassis also provides operators with a significant payload advantage – particularly in combination with lightweight body conversions – in addition to the potential for enhanced fuel efficiency.

The skeletal chassis derivative will build on the success of the Transit two-tonne model, which continues to generate increased demand in Europe. The Transit has achieved sales of 52,100 during year-to-date June 2018, a 13 per cent increase over the previous year.

“Ford’s Transit is already legendary for its huge range of body styles, drivelines and size variants, and this new model takes our offering a significant step further,” said Hans Schep, general manager, Commercial Vehicles, Ford of Europe. “The new Transit skeletal chassis opens up exciting new opportunities for grocery delivery vehicles and other low-floor body conversions where ease of access is paramount.”

The skeletal chassis model is based on a front-wheel drive Transit platform, and features an open-backed cab design that supports easy walk-through from the cab to the load space of the converted body.

Customers can specify a choice of three different wheelbase lengths to suit a variety of body conversions, with a wide-track rear axle for the longest variant and an optional wide-track rear axle for the 2 shorter variants. All versions offer a gross vehicle mass of 3.5 tonnes.

The Transit skeletal chassis derivative is offered with Ford’s powerful and fuel efficient 2.0litre EcoBlue diesel engine in 130 PS or 170 PS outputs, paired with a standard six-speed manual transmission.* Customers can also choose a six-speed automatic transmission, ideally suited to urban delivery applications.

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* Officially homologated fuel-efficiency and CO₂ emission figures will vary according to customer-derived specification

The declared Fuel/Energy Consumptions, CO₂ emissions and electric range are measured according to the technical requirements and specifications of the European Regulations (EC) 715/2007 and (EC) 692/2008 as last amended. Fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions are specified for a vehicle variant and not for a single car. The applied standard test procedure enables comparison between different vehicle types and different manufacturers. In addition to the fuel-efficiency of a car, driving behaviour as well as other non-technical factors play a role in determining a car's fuel/energy consumption, CO₂ emissions and electric range. CO₂ is the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.

From 1 September 2017, certain new vehicles will be type-approved using the World Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) according (EU) 2017/1151 as last amended, which is a new, more realistic test procedure for measuring fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions. From 1 September 2018 the WLTP will fully replace the New European Drive Cycle (NEDC), which is the current test procedure. During NEDC Phase-out, WLTP fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions are being correlated back to NEDC. There will be some variance to the previous fuel economy and emissions as some elements of the tests have altered i.e., the same car might have different fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions.