Ford has bagged a total of 15 awards for its new range of vans over the last 12 months, and was recently chosen as ‘Van Manufacturer of the Year 2014’ at the Van Fleet World Awards. The company’s critical success is translating into sales, too, as news of a 200-van delivery to National Grid confirms.

The utility giant has taken delivery of 200 new Transit Custom vans for use by engineers who maintain the firm’s gas supply network. The order is a relative drop in the ocean for National Grid, whose fleet numbers around 3,350 vehicles, but the majority of these also bear the blue oval, making the company a very important customer for Ford UK.

The fully-liveried Ford Transit Custom ECOnetic models, powered by the Dagenham-built 2.2-litre TDCi 100PS diesel engine, are now fully operational throughout the National Grid fleet, equipped with racking systems, first aid equipment and special lighting. The vans are used for emergency call-outs and day-to-day by engineers, including the fitment and repair of gas metering equipment.

The new vans have been comprehensively fitted with racking, first aid and lighting equipment.

Ford direct sales manager Stephen Gafson, said:

“The new Transit Custom is ideally suited to its role with National Grid and financially it clearly makes sense to the company, too. We are very pleased that Ford’s long association with National Grid is to continue.”

The new Transit Custom sold more than 10,000 units in its first year and has been a major success for Ford, bringing its van range into line with manufacturers such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, who have long offered two different sizes of vans where Ford has managed with a single Transit model.

The Transit Custom is the equivalent to the Transporter (VW) and Vito (Merc) models and will shortly be joined on UK roads by Ford’s new two-tonne Transit, which will give the firm a direct challenger for the Sprinter, Crafter, Ducato and Relay.