The Ford Transit Connect is a small van available in both cargo and passenger variants. Currently, the US gets its supply of these vans from Spain, and while a successor could have come from Mexico, it now appears that we won’t get one at all.
Ford will discontinue the Transit connect by the end of next year, Automotive News reports, citing sources familiar with the decision. Ford declined to comment to both AN and CNET, saying that the company doesn’t discuss speculation.
According to the report, the next-generation Transit Connect would have shifted the van’s production from Spain to Ford’s plant in Hermosillo, Mexico, where the automaker produces both the Maverick small pickup and the Bronco Sport crossover. It’s believed that the successor to the current Transit Connect would’ve shared a platform with those two.
The US small-van market hasn’t really been kind to any automaker. Mercedes recently confirmed that the Metris will be discontinued after its current generation ends. Prior to that, Nissan also confirmed that the NV200 would be sacrificed so that the automaker can “focus on core products.”
While the Transit Connect may be on its way out, it appears that Ford has no plans to scale back its full-size van operations. The automaker has already electrified its large commercial offering, and the electric E-Transit cargo van started making its way to customers earlier this year.
