Supported by 2,000 new employees and a $1.1 billion investment, the all-new Ford Transit van rolls off the line at Kansas City Assembly Plant.

On sale this summer, Ford’s next-generation full-size van family will provide tradespeople and businesses with increased capability and new configurations in the growing commercial vehicle market.

The 2,000 new Ford employees at Kansas City Assembly Plant puts the company more than 75% toward its goal of creating 12,000 hourly jobs in the United States by 2015. In 2014 alone, Ford will hire nearly 5,000 new hourly and salaried employees in the U.S. to support overall growth.

In the U.S., Transit eventually will replace the E-Series van, first sold in 1961 as Ford Econoline. E-Series vans and wagons still will be available and sold side-by-side with Transit into the 2014 calendar year. Additionally, the E-Series cutaway and stripped chassis will continue to be built and sold through most of the rest of the decade.

Transit was introduced in Europe in 1965. Transit is currently sold in 118 markets on six continents.

The high-roof Transit – with 81.5 inches of maximum interior cargo height – provides enough headroom for a person 6 feet 8 inches tall to stand upright in the cargo area.

The new Transit van offers as much as 487 cubic feet of cargo volume and 4,650 pounds of maximum payload capacity – more than competing vans from General Motors and Chrysler. The Transit van delivers a maximum towing capacity of 7,600 pounds.

Transit will be available in three body lengths, two wheelbases on van and wagon and three roof heights; in van, wagon, chassis cab and cutaway body styles; and in XL and XLT trim levels, offering more choices than ever from a Ford commercial van vehicle.

Moving from an all-gasoline engine lineup of two V8s and a V10 in E-Series, Transit comes standard with a 3.7-liter I-5 engine and offers the Ford F-150’s 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine, along with a globally proven available 3.2-liter Power Stroke diesel option. Each engine is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission for efficient rear-wheel-drive operation.