Ford delays to hit motorhome buyers

As a result of a global semiconductor shortage, Ford has temporarily stopped production of both the Transit Custom and two-tonne Transit for almost two months.

The Transit is used as a base vehicle by both campervan and motorhome manufacturers.

Chausson, a Trigano Group brand that builds motorhomes on the Transit, said the impact on customer orders will be kept to a minimum.

Nick Markl, UK Sales Manager, commented, “As the Chausson brand in the UK is predominantly reliant on the Ford chassis, this will unfortunately have an effect on the delivery times of motorhomes to our UK dealer network.

“At this time we have been able to minimise cancellations of any retail sold vehicles. We are, however, in the process of rescheduling the production for the start of the 2022 season based on the current information being provided from the chassis manufacturers.”

Russell Hensman, Marketing Manager at Auto-Trail, which builds its F-Line motorhomes on the Transit chassis-cab, advised, “We’ve been very lucky with the Ford shutdown, as our order had been completed just before the announcement, so no delays for us currently. Obviously, this will have a knock-on effect further down the line, but we’re not sure what at this time.”

Ford says that customer-sold vehicle orders will be prioritised.

The shutdown started on 19 April and will continue to 13 June.

The effects on production and deliveries are expected to be reduced by an increase in production during the following months.