Production of the ’12 F-650 pickup is under way at Ford’s plant in Escobedo, Mexico, marking the last generation of medium-duty trucks the auto maker will build south of the U.S. border.
As part of a 4-year labor agreement ratified with the United Auto Workers union last year, Ford plans to move medium-duty-truck output, which includes the F-750, to its Avon Lake, OH, facility beginning in 2015.
Avon Lake currently builds the E-Series fullsize van, which will be phased out in favor of the Transit commercial van that is to be produced at Ford’s Kansas City, MO, plant starting next year. However, the auto maker will make chassis-cab versions of the E-Series at the factory through the end of the decade.
Len Deluca, Ford’s director-commercial vehicles, says the decision to move truck production out of Mexico will lead to the dissolution of the Blue Diamond joint venture between Ford and truck builder Navistar that was formed in 2001.
“We saw an opportunity to bring the trucks in-house, and Ohio was the perfect solution,” Deluca he tells WardsAuto. “So, Ohio will become a very commercial-vehicle-oriented assembly plant.”
Ford says the production shift will make the auto maker the only U.S. full-line manufacturer of Class 6 and 7 medium-duty vehicles.
Deluca declines to reveal the annual volume at Avon Lake once the E-Series is discontinued and medium-truck production begins, but says output likely won’t match that of the large vans.
The new F-650 pickup being built in Mexico is powered by a 6.8L 3-valve V-10 gasoline engine producing 362 hp and 457 lb.-ft. (619 Nm) of torque. It is mated to a Ford 6R410 6-speed transmission with double overdrive gears for improved fuel economy.
An optional gaseous-fuel preparation package is available for conversion to compressed natural gas or liquefied propane gas.
Deluca says optional LPG and CNG powertrains are becoming increasingly popular among Ford’s medium-duty truck customers.
“There are a lot of discussions about natural gas and propane in commercial trucks, and customers are very interested,” he says. “Natural gas and propane is much cheaper than gasoline or diesel.”
Deluca says Ford’s medium-duty-truck sales are doing well, with Class 6 deliveries up 44% to 614 units in July, compared with year-ago. That was good for an 18.9% share of the segment, which climbed 34.2% to 3,242, according to WardsAuto data.
Ford’s Class 7 sales rose 5.4% in July to 354 units, for an 8.6% share of the segment that grew 29.5% to 4,101.
“The (Class 7) segment has shown some strength, but over the course of the year there has been some weakening,” Deluca says. “Even though we’re up a little year over year, the last few months have been a little soft.”
