Photo: Ford Motor Company
They say that money makes the world go ‘round, and in Europe, it seems that vans make the money go ‘round. According to Economics of Commercial Van Usage Across Europe, a new report commissioned by Ford and generated by the Center for Economics and Business Research, vans helped contribute over US$753 billion (€675 billion) to the European economy in 2017. This isn’t just up 19 percent from the contribution of vans five years prior, but it also exceeds the GDP of entire countries like Switzerland and Saudi Arabia.
“Vans offer crucial support to a world where how we live, work and get about is quickly changing. This report shows that through their contribution to the wider economy, light commercial vehicles truly are the backbone of business in Europe,” said Hans Schep, general manager, Commercial Vehicles, Ford of Europe.
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To get this number, CEBR took into account the value of goods delivered with cans and fuel duty fees paid to government bodies. The report focused on van use in France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, and the U.K., finding that both the contribution to the economy and number of vans in use has grown widely over five years.
The two major driving factors behind the uptick in the importance of van to the European economy are the increase in online sales and the increase in self-employment. Ford is looking to stay ahead of emerging trends and work toward its goal of increased efficiency by bolstering its lineup with the Transit Custom Plug-In Hybrid later this year and fully electric Transit van by 2021.
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