Ford's Surprising Plan to Replace Its Vans

By John Rosevear – Jun 13, 2013 at 7:31PM

NYSE: F

Ford Motor Company

Market Cap

$48B

Today's Change

(0.29%) $0.04

Current Price

$12.10

Price as of April 19, 2024, 12:55 p.m. ET

Few vehicles are more familiar than Ford's E-Series vans. It's been a top-seller for decades. But now sales are down, despite a strong market -- and Ford has a surprising plan to turn that around.

Here in North America, the F-150 pickup and its Super Duty siblings are Ford's (F 0.29%) bread and butter -- and they've been posting big sales gains lately, thanks to surges in the construction and oil markets. Now, a related segment -- commercial vans -- is showing signs of heating up, and Ford's small Transit Connect is posting big gains as well.

But sales of Ford's mainstay E-Series van have actually dropped lately. In this video, Fool.com contributor John Rosevear looks at the important commercial van market -- and at Ford's surprising plan to replace its familiar old Econoline with a very different product.

Fool contributor John Rosevear owns shares of Ford. Follow him on Twitter at @jrosevear. The Motley Fool recommends Ford. The Motley Fool owns shares of Ford. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.