The brand said the industry had recovered in 2010 and added: “We fully expect the strengthening to continue through 2011.”
Although Ford predicted the market overall would grow this year it does not expect volumes to match the level reached in 2008 when 289,463 new vans were sold, according to the SMMT.
But Ford said its order book going into the new year was significantly ahead of the same time last year and added that it has sufficient stock within its network to respond to any further strengthening in the market.
The manufacturer said customer interest was growing in particular for its range of Econetic vans as operators continued to concentrate on environmental and running cost issues.
Total van volumes reached 222, 915 in 2010 with Ford taking a 26.7% slice of the market with 59,500 sales.
