New Ford Tourneo Courier becomes firm's entry model in Europe
The Tourneo Courier will be produced at Ford's Craiova plant in Romania
Small MPV will share Puma's platform and enter production this year as Ford's cheapest car
The upcoming second-generation Tourneo Courier will take on a much more significant role for Ford following the death of the Ford Fiesta later this year (and the subsequent exit of the Ford Focus in 2025), effectively becoming its entry-level passenger car.
Due to enter production later this year alongside the Ford Puma crossover in Craiova, Romania, the Tourneo Courier is a boxy small MPV derived from the panel-sided Transit Courier that will be offered with both combustion and electric powertrains.
With Ford Otosan (a joint venture between Ford and Turkish firm Koç) taking over ownership of the Romanian plant, the Transit Courier and Tourneo Courier will fill the space left on the production line following the exit of the Ecosport (previously Ford’s cheapest SUV) late last year.
The first-generation Courier pair were based on the B2E car platform used by the front-wheel-drive Fiesta and Puma, rather than the rear-wheel-drive commercial vehicle architecture used by the larger models in the Transit family.
The Mk2 Tourneo Courier – due a dramatic design reinvention, as previewed by a prototype spotted testing recently – is expected to follow suit, given that it will now be built alongside the Puma.
This also means it’s likely that it will share the crossover’s mild-hybrid petrol and soon-to-be-introduced electric powertrains.
A Dagenham-supplied diesel engine is also likely to be offered, given the continued relevance of diesel in the light commercial vehicle sector.
Armed with these car-derived underpinnings and powertrains, the Tourneo Courier will in effect serve as the new entry point into Ford’s European passenger car lineup, based on the fact that the previous version started from around £5000 less than the Puma when revealed in 2019.
With the current Puma line-up starting at about £25,000, it seems likely that the ICE version of the new baby Tourneo will hit the market at nearer £20,000.
It will be well placed to do battle with the quartet of technically and visually identical small-van-derived MPVs offered by Stellantis: the Citroën Berlingo, Fiat Doblò, Peugeot Rifter and Vauxhall Combo Life.
For the best chance at commercial success in the quickly expanding compact EV segment, the electric Puma will need enough battery capacity for about a 230-mile range and the ability to charge at speeds north of 100kW, and the technically related electric Tourneo Courier should broadly share its specifications.
The Tourneo Courier is one of seven new EVs that Ford will launch in Europe by 2024. The other six will be the electric versions of the Puma, Transit Courier, Transit Custom, Tourneo Custo, the recently revealed Ford Explorer and a second crossover based on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform.