Vanlife: Will Others Be Able to Challenge the Ford Transit Dominance? (Sales Report)

2017 ford transit van europe united states china sales september
Ford Transit

Can competitor from GM, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Ram ever challenger the sales dominance of the Ford Transit in the United States? Here are the sales numbers for the first half of 2018.

The Ford Transit has been leading the full-size van market for a long time. There seemingly is no end to the demand. Ford continues to improve and grow the sales of the new big Transit.

The aging Chevy Express van is also doing well, but it’s selling just over half the numbers of the Transit. The Ram ProMaster had a great sales month in June. It nearly grabbed the second place for the month. Still the Ford Transit sales lead appears insurmountable in the near future.

Still the question remains – will consumer demand for overland or camper vans bring more change to this segment? We will have to wait and see. We think the new Mercedes-Benz van factory in the U.S. will have a significant impact on the Sprinter sales.

Full-size Commercial Van – June 2018 Sales

*Mercedes-Benz Sprinter sales numbers are now reported in combination with the Mercedes-Benz Metris van.

Jun 2018 # Jun ’18 / ’17 % YTD 2018 # YTD ’18 / ’17 %
Ford Transit 13,533 25.0% 71,412 7.5%
Chevy Express 7,137 monthly average 41,187 17.2%
Ram ProMaster 6,996  88.0% 20,362 -2.0%
Ford E-Series 3,724 -24.8% 25,505  -7.6%
Mercedes Sprinter/Metris 2,808 -9.7% 16,910 7.0%
GMC Savana 2,389 monthly average 11,964 -28.5%
Nissan NV 1,553 -8.0% 8,248 -12.7%

 

Small commercial vans returned mixed sales results in June 2018. The Ford Transit Connect still has a solid grip on this segment.

Small Commercial Van – June 2018 Sales

Jun 2018 # July ’18 / ’17 % YTD 2018 # YTD ’18 / ’17 %
Ford Transit Connect 3,124 2.4% 15,454 -3.8%
Nissan NV200 1,717 1.8% 9,800 2.1%
Ram ProMaster City 1,191 -35.0% 6,440 -24.0%

 

Here is a close look at the Nissan NV200 camper van by Recon.