DETROIT – Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday confirmed it will end sales of the Transit Connect small van in North America after the 2023 model year, plans that Automotive News first reported last year.
The automaker, which hasn’t publicly commented on the plans until now, said in a statement the decision stemmed from the company’s “efforts to reduce global manufacturing cost and complexity, alongside decreased demand for the compact van segment.”
Ford currently imports the vehicle to North America from a plant in Valencia, Spain. Automotive News reported last year that Ford had planned to build a next-generation model for North America in Mexico, code-named V758, but scrapped those plans.
The next-gen model would have been built on the same platform as the Maverick compact pickup and Bronco Sport crossover, which are also assembled in Mexico.
Ford on Tuesday confirmed the Transit Connect will continue to be built in Spain and sold in European markets.
The move comes as many automakers bow out of the segment.
Ram announced last year it would end production of the ProMaster City van, and General Motors and Nissan have also dropped their own small vans in recent years.
