A panel van, also known as a delivery van (United Kingdom), blind van, car-derived van or sedan delivery (United States), is a small cargo vehicle with a passenger car

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of a manufactured object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

, typically with a single front bench seat and no side windows behind the

B-pillar The pillars on a car with permanent roof body style (such as four-door sedans) are the vertical or nearly vertical supports of its window area or greenhouse—designated respectively as the A, B, C and (in larger cars such as 4-door stati ...

. Panel vans are smaller than

panel truck A panel truck (also called a panel delivery or pickup truck-based van) in U.S. and Canadian usage is a small delivery truck with a fully enclosed body. It typically is high and has no rear windows in the rear cargo area. The term was first used ...

s or cargo vans, both of which use

body-on-frame Body-on-frame is a traditional motor vehicle construction method whereby a separate coachwork, body or coach is mounted on a strong and relatively rigid vehicle frame or chassis that carries the powertrain (the engine and drivetrain) and to wh ...

truck chassis. As they are derived from passenger cars, the development of panel vans is typically closely linked with the passenger car models upon which they depend. North American panel vans were initially based upon the two-door station wagon models, while Europe's narrower roads dictated that panel vans utilize the smaller donor chassis of

subcompact car Subcompact car is a North American Car classification, classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the Unite ...

s in that market. In Australia, panel vans were a development of the

ute Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute people, a Native American people of the Great Basin * Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah * Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah * Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern ...

, a small pickup truck based on a passenger car chassis, e.g.

Holden Ute The Holden Ute (also known as The Holden Commodore Ute) is a coupe utility built by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors, from 2000 to 2017. Before then, Holden had marketed their Holden Commodore, Commodore-based utility models ...

, often using the longer wheelbase of a station wagon chassis.

Origins

Panel vans were a well-established body type by the end of the 1920s. Panel vans have experienced divergent evolution in America, Europe, and Australia, as a result of the different passenger car platforms upon which panel vans are based in each region.

North America

A panel van is often known as a "delivery" or "sedan delivery" in North America. It is an older term that usually only applies to station wagon–based vehicles (sedan deliveries/delivery wagons) such as the Chevrolet Delray and

Ford Courier Ford Courier is a model nameplate used by Ford Motor Company, Ford since the early 1950s. The Courier moniker has been used on a variety of vehicles all around the world since it was first used in North America for a Panel van#North America, se ...

, or pickup-based vans (panel deliveries). Large, boxy unibody vans based on truck platforms (such as the

Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a panel van, cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford ...

, Ram ProMaster, and Chevrolet Express) as well as smaller unibody vans (like the

Ford Transit Connect The Ford Transit Connect is a compact panel van sold by Ford since 2002. Developed by Ford of Europe, the model line replaced sedan-based vans ( Ford Escort and Ford Courier vans) with a dedicated commercial vehicle platform. The model lin ...

and Ram Promaster City) are usually referred to as cargo vans or just panel vans. Larger vehicles built on a chassis cab with a custom cargo box are usually called box trucks or moving vans. In the late 1920s, Ford produced "Town Car Delivery" and "Wood Panel Delivery" as part of the Ford Model A model range. Later

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

produced a sedan delivery from 1935 until 1941. Pontiac produced deliveries until 1953 in the U.S. and until 1958 in Canada based on the Pontiac Pathfinder. Sedan delivery models were usually produced in small quantities of 200 or less, for example 449 Canadian Pontiac sedan deliveries were built in 1958. 71 Vega Panel 2

From 1959 on, the sedan delivery was no longer practical; it was phased out in 1960 as a

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

model, so the requisite Chevrolet body was no longer available. With the growing sales of the

Volkswagen Type 2 The Volkswagen Transporter, initially the Type 2, is a range of light commercial vehicles, built as vans, pickups, and cab-and-chassis variants, introduced in 1950 by the German automotive industry, automaker Volkswagen as their second mass ...

and the introduction of compact vans, sedan deliveries faded from the scene. Chevrolet dropped the body type after 1960, while Ford moved it to the

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

line-up until 1965. In the 1970s, Chevrolet and Ford offered

subcompact Subcompact car is a North American classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the U.S. Environmental Pr ...

sedan deliveries with the

Chevrolet Vega The Chevrolet Vega is a Subcompact car, subcompact automobile manufactured and marketed by General Motors, GM's Chevrolet division from 1970 until 1977. Available in two-door hatchback, notchback, station wagon, wagon, and sedan delivery body st ...

Panel Express and the

Ford Pinto The Ford Pinto is a subcompact car that was manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company in North America from 1970 until 1980. The Pinto was the first subcompact vehicle produced by Ford in North America. The Pinto was marketed in three bo ...

Panel Wagon. The Vega Panel Express was introduced in September 1970 and it was Chevy's first sedan delivery in ten years since the final

full-size Full-size car—also known as large car—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than mid-size cars. It is the largest size class for cars. In the United Kingdom, this class is referred to as ...

model was offered in 1960. The Vega Panel Express

body style Governments and private organizations have developed car classification schemes that are used for various purposes including regulation, description, and categorization of cars. The International Standard ISO 3833-1977 ''Road vehicles – Type ...

accounted for less than 2% of the total Chevrolet Vegas produced during the 1971 through 1975 model years. First-year sales of the Vega Panel Express peaked at 7,800 units and after leveling off to 4,000 units per year, only 1,525 were sold in 1975. The

Pontiac Astre The Pontiac Astre is a Subcompact car, subcompact automobile that was marketed by Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac as a badge engineering, rebadged variant of the Chevrolet Vega. Initially marketed in Canada for model years 1973–1974, the Astre deb ...

Panel, Pontiac's version of the Vega Panel Express, was available in Canada in the 1973–75 model years and in the US for 1975. The Pinto Panel Wagon was introduced in 1976 and was offered in both a commercial and a "factory customized" Pinto Cruising Wagon version that featured a round porthole style window on each side. The

name, previously used for Ford sedan delivery vans, began to be used with Ford's import pickup truck line. In 2002,

Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...

showed a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle or show vehicle) is a car made to showcase new styling or new technology. Concept cars are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not ...

edition of a panel van based on the PT Cruiser at the

North American International Auto Show The Detroit Auto Show, formerly known as the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan. Hosted at Huntington Place (formerly Cobo Center) since 1965, it is among the largest auto shows in ...

, but it was not manufactured. In 2007 Chevrolet released a panel van version of the HHR, marketed as the HHR Panel. The small cargo vans currently sold by American manufacturers are from their overseas divisions, for example, the

and Ram ProMaster City; however, both vehicles are planned to be discontinued by their respective manufacturers by 2023 due to lackluster sales.

Europe

European panel vans of the 20th century include the

Citroën 2CV The Citroën 2CV (, , lit. "two horses", meaning "two Tax horsepower#France, ''taxable'' horsepower") is an economy car produced by the French company Citroën from 1948 to 1990. Introduced at the 1948 Paris Paris Auto Show, Salon de l'Automobi ...

Fourgonnette,

Citroën H Van The Citroën H-Type vans (most commonly the Citroën HY), are a series of panel vans and light trucks, produced by France, French automaker Citroën for 34 years – from 1947 through 1981. They are notable for their industrial design, using man ...

, Citroën C15, Ford Escort,

Morris Minor The Morris Minor is an economy car produced by British marque Morris Motors between 1948 and 1971. It made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 ...

, Renault Estafette, SEAT Inca and more recently the

Renault Kangoo The Renault Kangoo is a family of vans built by Renault since 1997 across three generations. It is sold as a passenger multi-purpose vehicle or as a light commercial vehicle. For the European market, the Kangoo is manufactured at the MCA plant i ...

and the Opel Combo. From the 1950s onwards, a larger alternative to the panel van was the van (based on a commercial vehicle chassis instead of a passenger car chassis), such as the

, the DKW van and the first-generation

in 1965. In the United Kingdom, panel vans benefit from having lower taxes than estate cars and do not have the speed restrictions that apply to larger vans. This has given rise to some anomalies. Authorities and dealers are not always certain about what qualifies as a car-derived van. SUVs and crossovers are also popularly turned into light commercial vehicles without rear seats. Examples of panel vans from the last 30 years are the

(1997), the

Fiat Doblò The Fiat Doblò is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle produced by Italian automaker Fiat since 2000. It was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October 2000. A second-generation Doblò succeeded the original vehicle in 2010 for most markets ...

(2001), Opel Combo (2001),

(2002) and the Volkswagen Caddy (2004). They are also purpose-designed to be utilitarian base model MPVs / people carriers, for a range of such vehicles. Since the 1980s most manufacturers have offered light van versions of their small hatchbacks, sharing bodywork with the regular passenger version. These versions have the rear seats removed and may have blanked rear windows, depending on local regulations. As of 2019, the market consists of the following models and many more: * Citroën Berlingo * Dacia Dokker * Fiat Fiorino *

* Ford Fiesta Sport Van * Ford Transit Courier * Ford Transit Custom * Mercedes-Benz Citan * Nissan NV200 * Opel/Vauxhall Combo * Peugeot Partner *

* Toyota ProAce City * Volkswagen Caddy

Australia

The first

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was ...

panel van produced in Australia was the FJ Holden, which was released in December 1953, although many manufacturers offered panel vans in their range prior to this. Like many Australian panel vans, it was based on a corresponding

and station wagon models. In May 1961, Ford Australia released a panel van version of the XK Falcon, marketed as the "sedan delivery" body style. The first panel van by Chrysler Valiant was part of the CL Valiant model range and was introduced in April 1977. Panel vans' combination of cargo space and customisable interior in a relatively compact vehicle made them attractive to painters, electricians, general labourers and film crews. Australian police forces also used panel vans (nicknamed "divvy vans" or " paddywagons"). Holden FJ Panel Van

Early Australian panel vans used swing-down and -up tailgates and a standard roof height, indicative of their ute and station wagon/sedan delivery origins. In the mid 60s first Holden, then Ford introduced unique rooflines to their panelvan models. These were higher than the previous stagion wagon based roof, giving greater cargo space and functionality. In the early 70s, Ford introduced horizontally opening rear doors (nicknamed "barn doors"). By the early 1970s, when panel vans were in decline in America, they had become cultural icons in Australia. The most popular model was the Holden Sandman, which was marketed to surfing lifestyle. The first Sandman was built in small quantities in 1974 in the HQ model range, but the model's popularity greatly increased in the subsequent HJ generation, which was released in October 1974. In the 1979 movie ''

Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It centres on a series of post-apocalyptic and dystopian action films. The franchise began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ...

'', a modified 1975 HJ Sandman model was one of the vehicles driven by the lead character (played by

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

). Ford's competitor to the Sandman was the Surferoo, which was introduced into the XB Falcon model range in 1973. In 1977, the Surferoo was replaced by the more popular Sundowner, in the XC Falcon range. The traditional tailgate style doors were also reintroduced as an option with the XC range. In 1976,

released a similar model called the Drifter, which was part of the Chrysler CL Valiant product range. The Drifter ceased production in 1978. Younger drivers were especially attracted to panel vans, not least because of the ease with which a mattress could be installed within the cargo bay. Consequently, panel vans also attracted nicknames such as "sin bins," and "shaggin' wagons". During the 1970s many Australian panel van owners took to applying airbrush mural art to the sides of their vans, paralleling a similar trend in America. Along with

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

Kombi micro-busses, panel vans were popular with surfers, who could sleep in the cargo bay while carrying surfboards on the roof. By the end of 1979, the Sandman had largely lost its place in the contemporary Australian youth culture – order figures were down and many of the vehicles were now being sold with the stripes and tailgate logos deleted. The final Sandman was in the Holden HZ series and featured V8 engines only, along with a four-headlight grille and under bumper front spoiler. In 1979, a basic HZ Holden panel van was priced at A$6,076, with the Sandman option package an additional A$1,700. If a buyer selected every Sandman extra, which would cost in excess of 50% more than a basic HZ panel van, Holden would include a velvet mattress with the Holden logo embroidered. The Sandman ute and panel van were phased out in October 1979, with the end of the HZ series. Panel vans generally declined in popularity through the 1980s. Holden's last panel van, the WB, ceased production in 1984. Ford was the last manufacturer of Australian panel vans, until production of the XH Falcon, ceased in 1999. In 2000, Holden unveiled a retro-styled Sandman show car based on the Holden VU Ute. While this Sandman was never released, a canopy or "camper shell" featuring the same styling was made available as an A$6,150 accessory for Holden utes from 2003 through 2006. Installation was complicated, however, and the rear window and cab wall of the ute were retained, preventing movement between the cargo bay and the passenger cab as was possible in purpose-built panel vans.

Explanatory notes

:1. The Holden panel van is an exception to the unibody rule of panel vans; however, it is not excluded as its ladder chassis is an adaptation of a unibody passenger car design, and size, towing and ride height classifications to suit.

References