Production of the new Ford Transit Courier compact van and its Tourneo Courier MPV counterpart is now underway in Romania.

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Debuted at the 2023 CV Show at the Birmingham NEC, the new Transit Courier is larger than the outgoing model and introduces new connectivity and productivity features.

It’s also available as the Tourneo Courier five-seat MPV, which offers SUV-inspired design and plenty of onboard space, competing with the van-derived MPVs offered by Stellantis.

The Transit Courier launches initially with petrol and diesel powertrains while the Tourneo Courier is petrol-only. These will be followed in 2024 by the E-Transit Courier and E-Tourneo Courier, supporting Ford’s commitment to achieve zero emissions across all vehicle sales in Europe by 2035.

The Transit Courier comes with the full Ford Pro platform of software and connected services launched in spring 2022 to further drive efficient operation with management tools.

Customers opting for the E-Transit Courier will also be fully supported by Ford Pro’s end-to-end charging solutions.

The official ceremony for the start of production was attended by Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, state officials, industry representatives and prominent business figures.

The two models were previously built in Turkey at the Yeniköy plant run by Ford Otosan – Ford’s joint venture in the region – but moved to the Craiova plant as part of Ford Otosan’s investment strategy.

Last year, Ford Otosan announced an investment of €490m (£427m) to support the production of the all-new Courier range at its newly acquired Craiova plant, alongside Ford’s investment of $300m (€284m / £247m) at the plant, where the Ford Puma is also produced.

“The team in Craiova is doing great work to deliver these exciting new models to our customers,” said Hans Schep, general manager, Ford Pro, Europe. “We’ve made the all‑new Transit Courier bigger, more capable and fully connected to support customers at work and accelerate their productivity, with enhanced load carrying and full integration with our Ford Pro platform of software and services. All this comes in an SUV-styled package that we know customers love.”