Deliveries of the all-new Ford Transit Connect van have begun to Mears Group – a major building maintenance services provider – which is receiving its first 100 new Fords this month.

The all-new Ford Transit Connect, and its larger sibling the Ford Transit Custom, were key models helping to secure a five-year contract with Mears, with Ford supplying up to 1,000 light commercial vehicles a year. The Gloucester-based company expanded its fleet last year and now manages 4,300 vans and 700 cars nationwide.

Mears Group asset manager, Jo Hammonds, said:

“The new Ford Transit Connect’s fresh styling, greater load space, better economy, emissions and whole-life costs are the factors which make it a very attractive prospect for us.”

Deliveries of 100 all-new Ford Transit Connect have begun to Mears Group.

Mears’ vans are used by the company’s 16,000-strong workforce to provide response and planned maintenance services to local authorities and registered social landlords, delivering 6,000 repairs a day to a portfolio of nearly one million properties.

The all-new Ford Transit Connect offers practicality and flexibility as standard, providing up to 3.6m³ of load space in long wheelbase models, and can carry up to 1,000kg of cargo.

An ingenious load-through bulkhead also accommodates long load items up to 3m, while the flexible dual front passenger seat means three occupants can sit comfortably in the front.

Transit Connect is offered with a choice of advanced petrol and diesel engines, including the award-winning 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine, which delivers 100PS and 170Nm of torque with a six-speed manual transmission. Combined with other fuel-saving technologies, such as Auto-Start-Stop, it achieves fuel savings of up to 24%, and CO₂ emissions that are up to 25% lower than the previous model.