Ford unveils new F-Series Super Duty trucks

DETROIT – Ford Motor is redesigning a pivotal product lineup, leaning on new software package and related information metrics, to enhance income in its industrial auto business enterprise.

The Detroit automaker on Tuesday disclosed its 2023 F-Collection Tremendous Responsibility trucks, a lineup of cars ranging from significant pickups to commercial trucks and chassis cabs that are applied for unexpected emergency reaction, towing and plowing, and building or utility work.

The motor vehicles – portion of Ford’s very best-marketing F-Collection truck lineup – are higher-margin, crucial to retaining recurring fleet prospects and a significant section of Ford’s designs to increase its industrial business.

“These are massively vital. Super Obligation is the sizing of earnings of Southwest Airways, Marriott or Nordstrom. It truly is a significant aspect of the enterprise,” Ted Cannis, CEO of Ford Pro, informed CNBC. “And now we’re bringing them into the digital age.”

Cannis declined to disclose income for Ford’s Tremendous Duty lineup, but Southwest, Marriott and Nordstrom most not long ago reported annual revenues of amongst $14 billion and $16 billion. Ford noted far more than $136 billion in total revenue in 2021.

Tremendous Obligation vans have additional than 50% marketplace share in utility, mining, construction and crisis response autos, in accordance to Ford, citing knowledge from S&P Worldwide Mobility.

The patterns of the new trucks are notably different on the exterior, showcasing redesigned C-clamp lights and much larger grilles. But the most vital alterations for Ford are not able to be seen by the bare eye, such as new electrical architectures, or brains, of the vehicles. The updates will give Ford the means to introduce new software, information telematics and fleet management instruments, Cannis said.

The software package equipment will assistance corporations monitor routine maintenance requires, car areas, driver behaviors, wasted idle time and other metrics. Fleet operators also can established procedure times that would reduce the cars from commencing outside the house of permitted times.

This kind of providers are viewed as important prospects for Ford to produce recurring earnings during the lifecycles of the autos – a thing automakers these types of as Ford have been unable to obtain further than regular upkeep and repairs as a result of franchised sellers.

The mission of Ford Pro is to act as a one particular-prevent shop for autos as very well as the software program management that organizations use to keep an eye on them, Cannis claimed, laying the groundwork for subscription-centered businesses and supplemental recurring earnings options for Ford that have traditionally been the domain of third-party businesses.

The related options are powered by embedded 5G connectivity – a initial for pickups in the U.S — making use of AT&T support and a Qualcomm modem.

“We’re targeted on maximizing productivity, maximizing the base line for companies of all measurements,” Raj Sarkar, Ford Professional general manager of merchandise marketing and advertising and system, said during a media briefing.  

Ford Professional is one particular of 3 major organization spots for the company below CEO Jim Farley’s Ford+ restructuring approach, which targets growth and benefit development in all a few segments in the years to arrive.

The Tremendous Duty trucks also element new interiors as well as other trailering and towing updates – each crucial to proprietors of much larger trucks. The new features contain trailer navigation, which plots routes that can be safely and securely navigated with provided trailer proportions and body weight to stay away from possible problems with minimal bridges and tight turns, as nicely as a 2nd backup digicam that can be employed when the tailgate of a truck is down.

Though Ford is investing billions in electrical vehicles, the new vans are run by one particular of 4 V-8 gasoline or diesel engines. Huge trucks such as Ford’s Tremendous Obligation are predicted to keep on to be driven by regular engines for the foreseeable long term.

The 2023 F-Series Tremendous Obligation is built at Ford assembly crops in Kentucky and Ohio. Pricing will be available nearer to launch in early 2023. The starting rates of the vehicles at this time variety from about $40,000 to almost $100,000.

Ford unveiled its new Tremendous Responsibility products and solutions a working day after crosstown rival, Standard Motors, declared updates to its 2024 Chevrolet Weighty-Responsibility pickup that is expected to go into generation the to start with 50 % of subsequent 12 months.