Ford Motor Co. reported 2 percent lower sales for February, compared to last year. Other automakers reported higher sales industrywide.
Despite the lower sales, there were some bright spots for Ford. The company said retail sales of its F-Series pickup trucks were up 7 percent. It said the F-150, which features a standard new aluminum body this model year, was the fastest-turning vehicle on dealer lots.
As part of their ever-increasing efforts to maximize fuel economy, carmakers are frequently using aluminum for body panels instead of steel to save weight.
Ford has been a leader in embracing the material at a volume level. In 2013 its CEO, Alan Mullaly, said that “pound for pound, aluminum is stronger and tougher than steel.”
Steel vs. aluminum? By choosing to build the 2015 F-150 with an all-aluminum body, Ford is shaving 700 pounds from the truck’s weight. And that’s a critical factor as automakers struggle to reach a 54.5 mpg fleet average by 2025. The F-150 has been America’s favorite vehicle for 32 years, so light weighting it—and reaching, maybe, 30 mpg on the highway—is really important to Ford.
The FutureSteelVehicle (FSV) is said to cut body mass by 39 percent when used in a battery electric vehicle. (SMDI graphic)
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