MARKET leader Ford was out in force showing off a range of commercial vehicles – but the star of its show is still on the drawing board.

Ford announced at a press conference on the eve of the show that it would be launching a new Fiesta van in the fourth quarter of the year. Few details were available but the new model will have a payload of 400kg, loadspace of one cubic metre and both common rail TDCi diesel and petrol engines.

Both the Escort van and Courier were ditched when the new Transit Connect was launched late last year and Ford believes with the new Fiesta it now has a full range of vehicles to suit all fleet needs.

Asked if there were any plans for a Focus van, Ford director of CV marketing Jon Fisher said: 'None at all. The Fiesta van is a significant launch for us and we will then have a fully functional line-up.'

Among the new variants on Ford's stand was a Transit double-cab-in-van with a second row of seats for fleets which need to transport both goods and crew, a London congestion charge busting LPG Transit, an interesting T-body Ford Ranger with a range of secure storage units and a LWB Transit mobile messing unit converted by Jarvis. It comes complete with toilet, washing and kitchen facilities.