Long the leader in terms of full-size van sales in the U.S., the Ford Transit continues to face strong demand as we head into the final stretch of 2023. In an effort to meet higher-than-expected demand early this year, Ford invested $95 million in its Kansas City Assembly plant and added a third shift back in April, which resulted in a big boost for Transit production in the month of May as a total of 18,296 vans rolled off the assembly line that month – 75 percent more than April. However, that number dropped to just 5,399 units in August, which was a 62 percent decline and its lowest total of the 2023 calendar year. Luckily, that changed dramatically in September, as 2023 Ford Transit production rebounded in a big way, according to the automaker’s latest sales report.
Last month, a grand total of 15,789 2023 Ford Transit vans came off the assembly line in Kansas City, which is 10,390 or 192 percent more than August – a massive increase, indeed. However, this puts production more in line with the rest of the year, and brings the model’s year-to-date total up to 124,804 units through the end of September.
It remains unclear what caused the Transit’s dip in production totals back in August, though there is at least one possibility worth mentioning – 2023 Ford F-150 production at the same plant, exclusively, was hampered that month by parts shortages. That prompted the automaker to cut back from three shifts to just one for a full week. Even though the Transit is built on a different line, it is possible that this issue – which the automaker blamed on a “supplier parts shortage” – also impacted the popular van.
Regardless, the Transit continues to dominate full-size van sales in the U.S. Deliveries totaled 31,389 units in Q3 2023, an increase of nearly 25 percent compared to the 25,126 units sold in Q3 2022. That was good enough to garner a 37 percent share of the market, handily beating the Ram Promaster (22,446 units sold) and the Chevy Express (12,724 units sold) in the process.
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Comment
I hope Ford decides to build my order soon. It was placed on 7/11/22. Still listed as an unscheduled clean order.