The race for creating more efficient pickup trucks among automakers is getting hotter as Ford Motor Co intends to gain some marketing edge over rivals in this segment and plans to unveil and launch a diesel engine version for its best-selling F-150 pickup truck in the spring.
The F-150 diesel model is expected to provide a fuel efficiency of 30 miles for every gallon of diesel even with a 10-speed transmission on the highways and which is almost equivalent to the mileage that is offered by most of the midsized cars, said executives from Ford.
“We’re confident we’ll get there,” David Filipe, Ford vice president of powertrain engineering, said at a briefing for media ahead of the official launch announcement.
the price would be model specific but on an average the new diesel version of the F-150 will be priced between $2,400 and $4,000 more in comparison to similar gasoline driven trucks, the company said. Ford plant in Britain would be the installation where the diesel engine would be manufactured.
Of all the F-150 models that are ordered, around 5 per cent would be for the diesel version once the production unit is set up and ready to go, Ford executives said. The primary target consumers would be those who are in the habit of towing large recreational or work trailers.
The auto market in the United States has witnessed a rise in the sale of large sized pickup trucks because of the stabilization of the gasoline prices which now hover around the figure of lower than $3 per gallon in most of the states of the country. This has seen Ford post record sales of its F-series trucks in the market since 2005 with a total sale of 896,764 units in 2017.
Despite the rise in sale, companies such as Ford, General Motors Co and the Ram brand of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV are still vying for market share where each one claiming that their trucks are the ones that provide the greatest fuel-efficiency in the large pickup truck segment. It should be mentioned that there is limited availability of the high-mileage models and the costs of such models is greater than the traditional trucks running on gasoline.
In 2013, a jolt to its rivals was provided by Fiat Chrysler when it developed and offered a diesel engine version for its light duty Ram pickup models as well as a claiming that this model offered by best-in-class fuel efficiency. But Fiat Chrysler was charged last year of making improper use of computer software in its Ram 2014-2016 models by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Justice Department. More than 104,000 vehicles of the company were accused of cheating on government emissions tests.
At present, the company is attempting to negotiate a settlement with the government and has already managed to get government permission for offering of a 3.0 liter diesel in the range of its 2017 and 2018 Ram trucks. These pickup trucks are accorded a mileage of 27 miles for every gallon under highway driving conditions.
Ford is however confident that they its diesel version would easily conform to U.S. emissions rules, said the company executives.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
The F-150 diesel model is expected to provide a fuel efficiency of 30 miles for every gallon of diesel even with a 10-speed transmission on the highways and which is almost equivalent to the mileage that is offered by most of the midsized cars, said executives from Ford.
“We’re confident we’ll get there,” David Filipe, Ford vice president of powertrain engineering, said at a briefing for media ahead of the official launch announcement.
the price would be model specific but on an average the new diesel version of the F-150 will be priced between $2,400 and $4,000 more in comparison to similar gasoline driven trucks, the company said. Ford plant in Britain would be the installation where the diesel engine would be manufactured.
Of all the F-150 models that are ordered, around 5 per cent would be for the diesel version once the production unit is set up and ready to go, Ford executives said. The primary target consumers would be those who are in the habit of towing large recreational or work trailers.
The auto market in the United States has witnessed a rise in the sale of large sized pickup trucks because of the stabilization of the gasoline prices which now hover around the figure of lower than $3 per gallon in most of the states of the country. This has seen Ford post record sales of its F-series trucks in the market since 2005 with a total sale of 896,764 units in 2017.
Despite the rise in sale, companies such as Ford, General Motors Co and the Ram brand of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV are still vying for market share where each one claiming that their trucks are the ones that provide the greatest fuel-efficiency in the large pickup truck segment. It should be mentioned that there is limited availability of the high-mileage models and the costs of such models is greater than the traditional trucks running on gasoline.
In 2013, a jolt to its rivals was provided by Fiat Chrysler when it developed and offered a diesel engine version for its light duty Ram pickup models as well as a claiming that this model offered by best-in-class fuel efficiency. But Fiat Chrysler was charged last year of making improper use of computer software in its Ram 2014-2016 models by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Justice Department. More than 104,000 vehicles of the company were accused of cheating on government emissions tests.
At present, the company is attempting to negotiate a settlement with the government and has already managed to get government permission for offering of a 3.0 liter diesel in the range of its 2017 and 2018 Ram trucks. These pickup trucks are accorded a mileage of 27 miles for every gallon under highway driving conditions.
Ford is however confident that they its diesel version would easily conform to U.S. emissions rules, said the company executives.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
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