Ford celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Transit range with a "Transit Show Live" event at dealerships.

Ford Transit Centres are the venues for a series of ‘Transit Show Live’ events that will showcase the latest technologies and features in the expanded Ford Transit commercial vehicle range.

Transit Show Live, which runs from 16-25 May, will also launch the specialist Ford Transit Centre network, dedicated to the sales and service of the full Transit range.

A fully product-trained team will be on hand to demonstrate key features of the latest technology-packed Ford commercial vehicles including the full Transit range, Fiesta van and Ranger pick-up.

Among the technologies on display is Active City Stop, featured on the Transit Connect. Designed to help reduce the likelihood of the van colliding with the vehicle in front in slow-moving traffic, Active City Stop will automatically apply the brakes if sensors detect that a collision is likely.

Terry Rayner, director, Transit Centres, Ford of Britain, said: “Ford’s commercial vehicles set the benchmark for efficiency and load space, and continue to push the boundaries of innovation. At Transit Show Live, customers will see our new showrooms and learn about the fantastic technologies such as Lane Keeping Aid and Ford SYNC, which won a Euro NCAP Advanced rewards for technology on the Transit Custom - the first for any commercial vehicle.”

Customers will also be shown the full loading capabilities of each vehicle including the load-through bulkhead on the Transit Custom and Transit Connect which allows the transport of three-metre pipes. Further technologies such as Load Adaptive Control, sense the weight being carried in the vehicle and adjusts braking inputs via the Electronic Stability Control system to help maximise driver control.

SYNC with Emergency Assistance, available on the full commercial vehicle range, will also be demonstrated. This feature enables drivers to use voice commands to operate most popular MP3 players, Bluetooth-enabled phones and USB drives. Emergency Assistance automatically places a call with the emergency services on a paired Bluetooth-enabled phone when an airbag is deployed or the fuel pump is deactivated.

Ford Telematics powered by Telogis will also be available for demonstration. This provides fleet operators with unique live Ford diagnostics to help improve efficiency, safety and productivity of their fleets.

The events will also showcase the Transit Centre network and explain the advantages of the Transit24 commercial vehicle service promise. Ford’s elevated service proposition, Transit24, available at over 191 locations nationwide, offers extended opening hours to reduce the amount of time that customers’ vehicles are off the road. Customers will also benefit from easy-to-book while-you-wait servicing and priority treatment for urgent repairs.

Transit Show Live runs during Ford’s celebrations for the Ford Transit’s 50^th anniversary. Since the first vehicle left the production line in Langley, England, on August 9, 1965, almost eight million Transit and Transit Custom models have been built. Add Transit Connect and Transit Courier to that milestone and total Transit production is scheduled to top nine million during 2015. The Ford Transit Centres have a played a vital role in boosting commercial vehicle sales, with March registering Ford’s highest sales month of CV sales ever.