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News - Market Insight - Market Insight 2025Market Insight: Transit Custom growth assuredFord confident that broad powertrain options will spur Transit Custom sales in Aus3 Nov 2025 By MATT BROGAN AS FORD Australia prepares for a succession of new and updated model launches over the coming months – including the revised Mustang Mach-E battery electric SUV and F-150 full-size pick-up plus the hotly anticipated Ranger Super Duty ute – it is the ‘quieter’ arrival of the new-generation Transit Custom it expects to contribute greatly to overall sales volume.
Long the second-best seller in its class – behind the formidable Toyota HiAce – the Ford Transit Custom arrives with an all-new body, a choice of electrified or diesel powertrains, a more spacious driver compartment, and with a suite of new safety and connectivity features, all targeted at hard-working commercial operators.
They are changes Ford Australia marketing director Ambrose Henderson believes to be unique in the light commercial van segment, suggesting the availability of electric, plug-in hybrid, and turbo-diesel power will help the Transit Custom appeal to a broader audience.
“We are the number two selling van in the one-tonne segment. We’re incredibly proud of that growth, and we know that it will further improve as we introduce the powertrain that we have here today gives us the greatest range (in the segment),” he said.
“The Transit has had a link to Australia for more than 50 years, and we’re still going strong. In fact, we are having our best (sales) year in more than 25 years … and we are sure that will continue into the future.
“This expanded portfolio is not available from any other van supplier or manufacturer. These products give customers the choice that they want, and the ability to mix both work and play … and we are uniquely situated to do that.”
Indeed, the Transit Custom is the only vehicle in its class to offer a mix of front-, rear-, and all-wheel drive alongside the choice of battery electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and turbo-diesel power, all factors Mr Ambrose says will help to build upon the 2541 unit sales it has achieved to the end of September.
While year-to-date sales of the Transit Custom are dwarfed by the ubiquitous Toyota HiAce (with 8049 delivered to September 30), it is holding its own against the competitive Hyundai Staria Load (2224) and cut-price LDV G10 (1351).
All other entrants in the 2500-3500kg light commercial van segment have failed to crack the four-digit sales bar in 2025, with several selling less than 250 units.
The LDV Deliver 7 and its electric counterpart have notched just 910 sales to 30 September, the ageing Renault Trafic 620 units, and the Mercedes-Benz Vito and eVito a combined 433 units.
Peugeot’s Expert and E-Expert (186 sales YTD) holds a single-digit advantage over the Volkswagen Transporter (185 units with a new-generation model incoming), which ranks ahead of the freshly launched Volkswagen ID.Buzz Cargo electric model range (122 units), and last-place LDV V80 (40 units).
But it is the steady growth of the Transit Custom that places Ford Australia in its best position in decades.
Should sales of the model range continue to follow current trends, it is expected the Transit Custom will assist the importer in closing the gap on the HiAce’s dominance.
With NVES regulations pushing fleet and private buyers alike toward cleaner and greener options, the diesel-only HiAce will become a tougher sell in the years ahead, all but passing the baton to models with an electrified alternative at hand.
Ford Transit Custom sales versus key rivals*:
*All sales data supplied courtesy of VFACTS.
^YTD sales to 30 September.  Read more26th of October 2025  Market Insight: Mazda buyers favour older modelsOlder Mazda models outsell newer ‘premium’ lines by more than seven to one in Aus13th of October 2025  Market Insight: A record year in the making?Third-quarter sales a usual indicator of full-year performance – but what about 2025? |
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