The Transit Connect was introduced in Europe in October 2002 as the replacement for car-derived vans based on the Escort and the Fiesta but as it is built on a dedicated commercial vehicle platform it is not a car-derived van itself. Production of the Escort in Europe ceased in 2000 (although the vans carried on for another two years), whilst the Fiesta Courier was also planned to be discontinued when the fifth generation Fiesta entered production in 2002. Ford elected not to develop a direct sedan delivery version of the Focus, instead pursuing a purpose built design.