Ford launches for sale half of 10-speed F-150 stockpiled trucks

Ford Motor by Wednesday launched for sale over half of the 15,000 F-150 pickup trucks with 10-speed transmissions that were held to guarantee quality, a company spokesperson stated.

Reuters noted on Tuesday that delivery of some of the 2017 models of the F-150 were being delayed to keep from having quality problems during the very first application of a 10-speed transmission.

During an interview with Reuters last week, Joe Hinrichs, head of Ford in the Americas, stated holding the trucks was the sensible thing to do.

“In the normal course of company, when we have a new item launch– this is a new item launch for that transmission– we wished to be extra sure, to do additional testing,” Hinrichs stated.

Ford developed the 10-speed transmission collectively with Detroit rival General Motors.

The 2017 model F-150s geared up with a 3.5-liter, six-cylinder engine and the 10-speed automatic gearbox obtain a one-mile-per-gallon enhancement in fuel economy over comparable 2016 models with six-speed transmissions, as per federal fuel economy data.

The delayed deliveries of 2017 model year F-150 trucks happened as competing General Motors is aggressively trying to cut into Ford’s lead in U.S. pickup sales.

This year is going to become the 40th straight year that the F-Series pickup trucks from Ford are the best-selling truck in the United States and the 35th successive year of it being the top-selling design of any type.

Hinrichs stated the postponed deliveries will not affect the company’s fourth-quarter profit due to the fact that they will all be delivered by year’s end.