Ford, America’s truck leader, has outfitted hard-working fleets with more F-650 and F-750 trucks in the first eight months of 2016 than all year in 2015.
Sales of the all-new medium-duty Ford trucks are up 59 percent year-over-year through August, with 10,160 sold. That’s the best year-to-date sales total for Ford’s largest trucks since August 1997.
Ford F-650 and F-750 Trucks © Ford Motor Company
The sales growth has come quickly: The redesigned F-650 and F-750 trucks rolled off the line at Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant near Cleveland for the first time in August 2015. Ford shifted production to Ohio from Mexico in 2015 and invested $168 million in the Ohio plant.
The F-650 and F-750 line-up includes Regular Cab, SuperCab and Crew Cab body styles, as well as straight-frame, kick-up frame Pro Loader and a new dedicated tractor model for heavy towing applications.
“We’re seeing growing interest in the new tractor from beverage and hauling fleets,” says Kevin Koester, Ford medium-duty truck and Super Duty fleet marketing manager. “Giving our customers the choice of two exclusive powertrains, available across all body styles and designed specifically for the unique needs of the vocational truck market, has really helped drive sales of our new trucks.”
Ford remains the only automaker to offer a gasoline-powered engine in the medium-duty truck segment. The 6.8-liter V10 with 320 horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. of torque is available for both F-650 and F-750 models with the heavy-duty, Ford-built TorqShift HD six-speed automatic transmission. The 6.8-liter engine can be factory-prepped for converting to compressed natural gas or liquid propane gas as cost-effective alternatives to gasoline.
Ford is the only medium-duty truck manufacturer that designs and builds its own diesel engine and transmission combination – ensuring the powertrain will work seamlessly with all chassis components and vehicle calibrations, and providing customers with streamlined service. The Ford 6.7-liter Power Stroke® V8 turbo diesel engine delivers best-in-class standard 270 horsepower and 675 lb.-ft. of torque, plus available engine outputs of 300 horsepower with 700 lb.-ft. of torque and 330 horsepower with 725 lb.-ft. of torque. It is backed by an unsurpassed five-year/250,000-mile warranty.
“Towing and rental customers have embraced the gas engine, and others are looking at this powertrain for more severe service applications,” Koester says. “Our diesel customers are praising the quietness of the 6.7-liter Power Stroke® diesel engine. Not only is it up to 45 percent quieter in the cabin at idle than the outgoing model, it’s so quiet that customers have told us that there have been times when they’ve approached the truck in front of the grille and didn’t even realize it was running.”
Another feature resonating with customers, Koester says, is the TorqShift HD’s available Live-Drive Power Takeoff Provision. The diesel engine can crank out 300 lb.-ft. of stationary torque and 200 lb.-ft. in mobile mode, giving customers the power they need to operate a wide range of equipment on the job site. Diesel models can accommodate split-shaft PTO applications, as well. New for 2017 is the addition of mobile mode on the 6.8-liter V10 engine.
Toughest, great value and work-ready Ford medium-duty trucks ever
Ford F-650 and F-750 trucks provide the ideal combination of value, capability and upfit readiness in the medium-duty truck segment.
These attributes underscore F-650 and F-750’s position as the future of medium-duty trucks:
- Toughest: Fully designed and developed by Ford truck engineers in Dearborn, Michigan; robot-tested on taxing durability courses too demanding for human drivers; 500,000-plus miles of harsh dynamometer engine testing at extreme power levels and temperatures
- Work-ready: New upfit-friendly chassis developed in cooperation with leading industry body makers; clean chassis capable of accommodating vocational bodies with little to no modification saves time and expense
- Great value: Choice of segment-exclusive 6.8-liter V10 gas engine or 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 diesel – both backed by Ford’s heavy-duty TorqShift HD six-speed automatic transmission enhanced for medium-duty use with great power, performance and efficiency; supported by a national network of Ford service centers to minimize downtime
