Ford debuts new F-150 pickup with focus on hybrid powertrain
Ford’s F-150 pickup is America’s best-selling vehicle — period. So when Ford (F) makes changes to the winning format, the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker better make sure it gets the formula right.
The company says the 2024 Ford F-150 is all new, but it's what the industry calls a "mid-cycle refresh" since the current generation F-150 debuted only two years ago in 2021. Ford did make some noteworthy changes to the truck's styling, at least up front with new lighting, a bigger grill, and a tricky new tailgate that can fold down and swing open.
The base version of the F-150 will cost $38,565 (including shipping) and comes equipped with a new 2.7L EcoBoost turbocharged V-6, smaller than the outgoing V-6 but offering more power. What’s even more interesting is Ford plans to double sales of the hybrid version of the truck, which comes equipped with a PowerBoost 3.5L mild-hybrid turbo V-6, to meet what it sees as more demand for an electrified powertrain.
"[Customers] want the power, they want the torque, which we give them with our PowerBoost and they want the fuel economy as well that goes with it," said Andrew Frick, Ford vice president of sales, distribution, and trucks to Yahoo Finance.
A big feature of that hybrid model is its Pro Power Onboard inverter, which is capable of outputting 7.2 kW of power, which can be used to power a small job site or even a small home for nearly a day and half. Frick said this makes the hybrid F-150 "a tool in and of itself."
While customers are increasingly opting for the hybrid F-150 (which starts around $52,825 for 2023 model), the question many are asking is whether those customers are balking at the high starting price of the fully electric F-150 Lightning, and going for the hybrid instead.
Frick said that isn’t the case, at least for the Lightning.
"We've been in a sold-out position since we launched [the F-150 Lightning] and still are, and we're actually in growth mode there because we're increasing our production capacity as we speak," Frick said. "So we're having a really strong year and actually expanding our leadership position in the market. But our hybrid sales were up 33%, so we have real growth across our [gas-powered] vehicles, our hybrid vehicles, and our EV, our F-150 Lightning."
While it is possible hybrid sales are eating into Lightning EV sales, Ford is still bullish on the Lightning’s prospects, though the company did cut prices for it earlier this summer.
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Ford’s EV transformation — and that of the industry itself — is of particular interest given the impending possibility of a strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) in the US. The UAW is concerned that the industry’s push toward electric vehicles will lead to fewer jobs (since, generally speaking, EVs are less complex from a manufacturing point of view), and many of the new EV and battery plants are being planned for states that don’t force union membership for some types of employment.
With the UAW strike deadline approaching, Ford CEO Jim Farley said the company has submitted its most generous offer ever.
"We're still continuing to negotiate with our UAW partners," Frick said, noting that Ford — which employs the most union workers of the Big Three, which includes GM (GM) and Stellantis (STLA), builds its F-150 in Detroit, Kansas City, Mo., and Louisville, Ky., using UAW labor.
"[Negotiating] teams are working very hard, and [there’s] a lot to come in the next couple of days," Frick said, with the 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday strike deadline fast approaching.
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Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
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