Ford F150 V6 Sales Continue to Rise Thanks to the EcoBoost
by Patrick Rall
The new 3.5L EcoBoost V6 has made a great name for itself in vehicles like the Ford Flex, Taurus SHO and Lincoln MKS, but the key application for this new engine technology has become the 2011 Ford F150 ““ with the twin turbo V6 leading the model lineup in sales for the third month in a row.
When Ford Motor Company announced that they would be selling an F150 variant with the new high tech V6 and marketing it as a premium engine option, many long-time truck buyers questioned the abilities of a twin turbocharged V6 to do “truck stuff” as well as a V8, but amidst great reviews, the consumers have flocked to this new EcoBoost package for the F150. Also, the new entry level 3.7L V6 (Duratec 37) has continued to grow, helping Ford’s V6 engines to outsell the V8 models once again. When you consider just how good the current Ford F150 V8 engine offerings are with the new 5.0L and SVT-developed 6.2L mill, it goes to show just how great these new V6 engines really are.
Ford sold 49,104 F Series pickups in July 2011 and an incredible 40% of those were powered by the 3.5L EcoBoost V6. Also, the base 3.7L V6 accounted for 16% of total F Series sales in July 2011. So these two compact powerplants combined to cover 56% of total sales last month.
Not only did these two V6 engines lead the way for Ford, but when you consider total V6 truck sales in July 2011 (compared to GMC, Chevrolet, Ram Trucks and Toyota), the EcoBoost V6 and the Duratec 37 accounted for a whopping 80% of the V6 truck market. Using Ford’s numbers of 49,104 trucks sold with 56% powered by V6 engines, that indicates that roughly 27,500 new F150s were powered by these two engines. If this number accounted for 80% of the total V6 truck market, that means that while Ford sold 27,500 V6 powered trucks last month, GMC, Chevrolet, Ram and Toyota combined to move just 6,875.
The new EcoBoost V6 in the 2011 Ford F150 has proven that a twin turbocharged V6 can do just about everything that a comparably powered V8 can do, and the EcoBoost can do it more efficiently. Because of that, the consumer market gobbled up an impressive number of these turbocharged pickups, helping the new engine option to see rising sales over the past four months. While the heavy duty trucks are still dominated by V8 mills (some of which are turbo diesels), the popularity of the 2011 Ford F150 EcoBoost is proof that a smaller engine can serve as a reliable and efficient engine option for a full size pickup. The fact that Ford’s 305 horsepower entry level V6 is helping Ford’s V6 engines to lead their F Series lineup is just icing on the cake as Ford Motor Company’s bestselling models help to spread the EcoBoost name.
What do you think? Is the EcoBoost the biggest reason Ford is staying ahead of its competition? Voice your opinion here!
