New Smaller Commercial Vans Do Well Due To Fuel Efficiency

You can save a lot of money by improving the fuel economy of larger and thirstier vehicles, especially if they cover lots of miles each year.

That's why business owners are usually considered to be more rational vehicle buyers than retail customers: The fleet vehicles often consume twice the fuel or more of an average family vehicle.

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Yet for a long time, even as hybrids grew to 3 percent of the U.S. market and corporate average fuel economy standards took effect for 2012 vehicles, one segment persisted with ancient, thirsty vehicles.

That would be the full-size van market, split among "white vans" for tradesmen and windowed "church vans" for carrying up to 15 passengers.

Now, each of the three U.S. makers offers a European-style compact commercial van for sale in the U.S. And so does Nissan.

And, according to industry trade journal Ward's Auto, their sales are steadily increasing.

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The first smaller van was the first-generation Ford Transit Connect, launched in the U.S. for the 2010 model year.

The 2014 Transit Connect was an all-new design, replacing one that dated back to 2002 (the year it went on sale in Europe).

The new Transit Connect is a global vehicle, sold in dozens of countries around the world.