Manheim is marking the Ford Transit’s 50th birthday with a fortnight of sale events from August 3 - 14 at its commercial vehicle auction centres and Manheim Online.

The vehicle auction company has sold 500,000 used examples of the famous van since the first one rolled off the production line on August 9 1965.

Since 2007 alone, Manheim has sold over 84,000 Transit vans with a total sales value of more than £425 million.

Manheim’s top Transit buyer has been Anchor Vans Ltd, which has purchased 1,100 of the iconic Ford vans since 2007, spending £6.4 million.

At each auction event, for each Transit sold, Manheim will pledge £10 to charity, with £5 donated to Macmillan Cancer Support, a charity long-supported by Ford UK, and £5 going to the Manheim Foundation.

Manheim is also running its ‘Backbone of Britain’ Tour, with James Davis, Manheim’s director of commercial vehicles, and Matthew Davock, Manheim’s head of LCV, running ‘Transit 50th’-branded vans around the country to each auction event.

Davis said: “The Ford Transit is Britain’s undisputed best-selling van, so we felt it appropriate as the UK’s undisputed number one commercial vehicle auction business to support its 50th birthday celebrations. Whether they are young or old, low mileage or have been around the clock, demand for the iconic van remains high and we are proud to sell thousands of them to buyers across the UK every year.”