Russell Barnett, a Ford dealer in Tennessee, is ready for aluminum.
According to the Associated Press,
Ford is using the metal almost exclusively in body of the 2015 version
of its best-selling F-150 pickup, which starts arriving at dealerships
next month. Barnett is already answering customers’ questions about the
truck.
And he’s updated his repair
shop not only for the F-150, but in anticipation that other Ford brands
such as the Mustang will eventually make the switch from steel.
But, just in case, he ordered some extra steel-bodied 2014 pickups.
“There
will be some people who won’t want to change for a while,” says
Barnett, who says pickups make up around half of the annual sales at his
dealership in rural Winchester.
Ford
is doubling down on aluminum, which is lighter – and more expensive –
than steel but just as tough. The new truck is the company’s response to
customers’ requests for a more fuel-efficient and nimbler pickup.
Ford
hopes the advantages outweigh customer doubts about the durability of
aluminum or potential repair costs for the pricier metal.
It’s
a big risk. So far this year, one out of every three vehicles Ford sold
in the U.S. was an F-Series pickup. Morgan Stanley estimates F-Series
trucks account for 90 percent of Ford’s global automotive profit.
On Tuesday, it kicked off production of the new truck at its Dearborn Truck Plant, four miles from the company’s headquarters.
“Yeah,
this is a risk, but it’s one well worth taking.” said Bill Ford, the
company’s executive chairman, as he stood alongside the assembly line.
“For our customer, this is a big, big leap forward.”
The
trucks have been the best-selling vehicles in the U.S. for 32 straight
years; last year, Ford sold nearly 100,000 more full-size pickups than
General Motors.
Aluminum isn’t new to
the auto industry, but this is the first time it will cover the entire
body of such a high-volume vehicle. Ford made 647,697 F-150 pickups at
its two U.S. plants last year; that’s one every 49 seconds.
If
Ford’s bet pays off, it could pad its lead in the lucrative truck
market. More importantly, aluminum “future proofs” the truck – and the
company – in an era of rising fuel economy standards, says Karl Brauer, a
senior analyst with Kelley Blue Book.
Ford
will announce the truck’s fuel economy figures later this month. That
could determine if it steals customers away from the Silverado or Ram.
Truck buyers are among the most loyal in the auto market.
Ford
says the 2015 truck will have from five percent to 20 percent better
fuel economy that the current version. A figure in the higher end of
that range might sway some buyers, says Jesse Toprak, chief sales
analyst for the car buying site Cars.com.
“If
I own a business and if I look at the numbers, and it’s going to add up
over time, then I’ll think twice about it (switching brands),” Toprak
says.
Ford has the disadvantage of
introducing the truck as gas prices are hitting a four-year low, with
the national average now below three dollars a gallon. But CEO Mark
Fields says even when gas prices were $1.25, truck buyers still asked
for better fuel economy.
“These
vehicles are not just vehicles to our customers. They’re tools to help
them do their job,” Fields says. “This thing has to deliver.”
Toprak
believes that Ford’s biggest risk with the truck is simply the unknown –
truck buyers don’t know how an aluminum body will hold up over time.
When
Ginny Pruet, who runs a wedding rental business in Rockwall, Texas,
decided to trade in her 2012 F-150 to get one with a backup camera, she
chose a 2014.
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