Design of next light-duty Transit van concept hint by Ford

Ford Motor Co. will take the wraps off the Tourneo Custom concept next month at the Geneva auto show, a styling exercise that shows the design direction for the redesigned Ford Transit.

Many of the Tourneo's styling cues will be incorporated into the light-duty Transit van that will be sold in Europe and Asia.

Today, the light- and heavy-duty Transit in Europe "look almost identical. It is very hard to tell the difference between the two," said Mike Levine, a Ford spokesman.

"The styling now will be very different between the one-ton, light-duty version and the two-ton, heavy-duty version," Levine said.

Both production models are expected to be revealed this year.

The front-wheel-drive Tourneo concept features what Ford calls "a luxurious carlike interior." The leather-trimmed seats are hand-stitched and have cloth inserts.

Levine said Ford will not sell the light-duty Transit in the United States.

Ford said last year that the redesigned heavy-duty Transit will be assembled and sold in the United States beginning in 2013, eventually replacing the Ford E series.

Both Transit models are developed on Ford's new global van platform, which is engineered for fwd and rear-wheel-drive applications.

The heavy-duty U.S. model will be offered with rwd.