Ford Motor Co, the second-largest US car manufacturer, will raise the prices on its new and improved best seller – the F-150 pickup truck, which will hit showrooms by years end. In exchange, the costlier 2015 model will have an aluminum body, ensuring greater fuel efficiency, and additional standard features.
Ford dealers in the United States and Canada began yesterday to purchase the 2015 F-150 pickup trucks. Although customers were hesitant at first, having gained some knowledge about the advantages of the new lighter body has turned their skepticism into excitement, a US Ford dealer said for Reuters.
The new and improved F-150, which will become available to buy by the end of the year, will be more than 300 kilograms lighter compared to its predecessor, thus allowing for a fuel usage of as much as 48 kilometers (30 miles) to the gallon on the highway. Moreover, the new generation comes packed up with improved standard equipment, such as LED lights, heated rear seats, 8-inch digital dashbord displays and inflatable seatbelts.
Ford has been putting a lot of effort in keeping the F-150 on track with modern technologies and customers fuel efficiency preferences. Unsurprisingly, the F-150 is not only the car makers main profit driver, but it has also been North Americas best selling vehicle for 36 consecutive years and is on track to continue the streak in 2014.
Although Ford is buffing the price sticker of the whole F-150 range, its main goal continues to be dominance in the segment, as reflected by the flexible price hike. The low-end models price tags will feel the smallest difference, while the more powerful premium models will see a larger increase. Thus, Ford aims to remain competitive at the lower end, while reinforcing its leadership in the premium segment. The base models minor price jump should help the F-150 defend its market share against Chryslers Ram truck.
Mike Levine, a spokesman for Ford said that the base model 2015 XL F-150 will start at $26 615, up by $395 or 1.5%, while the top-end Platinum versions price will be raised by 6.2%, or $3 055, to $52 155. The King Ranch F-150 will see the highest price hike – 7.9%, or $3 615, and will begin pricing at $49 460.
Together, the base XL-version and the most popular XLT-model, which will begin at $31 890, will account for as much as 70% of the F-150 ranges sales. The Lariat model, the cheapest version of the luxury models which accounts for 15% of sales, will start at $39 880, up 2.3%, or $895.
Additionally, a new smaller 2.7-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine will be offered, while upgrading to the more powerful 3.5-liter turbocharged EcoBoost V-6 will be $100 cheaper.
The company warned that its profits will be curbed in the second half as it halts output at its two factories that have been producing the models for more than ten years in order to prepare them for making the new aluminum-based trucks.
Ford Motor Co rose by 0.11% on Monday in New York to close the session at $17.64 per share, marking a one-year change of +3.64%. The US car manufacturer is valued at $69.67 billion. According to CNN Money, the 15 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Ford Motor Co have a median target of $20.00, with a high estimate of $23.00 and a low estimate of $14.00. The median estimate represents a +13.38% increase from the last price of $17.64.
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