First Posted: 3/14/2015
PERRYSBURG — Ford Motor Co.’s aluminum gamble on its best-selling vehicle has been a long and expensive learning process, but company officials say that decision is being validated in the early success of the new F-150.
Officials say the aluminum pickups have sold well, though a lack of inventory through the changeover has dragged on Ford’s overall sales. That should start to change today, however, as Ford officially launches F-150 production at its Kansas City Assembly Plant. Ford says it will be able to build about 700,000 trucks per year between Kansas City and its Dearborn, Mich., plants.
As the first automaker to successfully crack mass production of aluminum vehicles, Ford executives are well aware that they’re drawing a lot of eyes within the industry.
“I’m sure somebody would like a book of all the things we learned on aluminum, but we’re probably not going to publish that any time soon,” said John Fleming, the company’s executive vice president of global manufacturing and labor affairs.
Fleming visited Perrysburg on Thursday as the featured speaker at the Northwest Ohio Regional Economic Development Association’s annual meeting. A 47-year veteran of Ford, Mr. Fleming oversees operations at all of the company’s 62 plants worldwide that support production of 25,000 vehicles a day.
Ford has four plants in Ohio. Ford builds medium-duty trucks in Avon Lake, transmissions in suburban Cincinnati, and engines in Cleveland and Lima. The company says it employs about 6,300 people in Ohio.
The company’s Lima plant recently received a $500 million investment to build a new 2.7-liter turbocharged V-6 engine that powers some versions of the new F-150. Lima also builds a 3.5-liter V-6 and a 3.7-liter V-6.
In his comments to the economic development group, Fleming touched on Ford’s commitments to Ohio. He said the company has 480 Ohio-based suppliers and spends about $3 billion annually in Ohio on parts and other supplies.
He also talked about the importance of finding ways to be smarter in manufacturing and to reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. To that end, he pointed to the F-150.
Using aluminum has shaved between 300 and 700 pounds from the F-150, depending on the model. It also has allowed Ford to use smaller engines — like the Lima-built 2.7-liter — without sacrificing capability.
But switching to aluminum was no small task. It took Ford five-plus years of work to get there.
In an interview following his presentation, Fleming said many people had openly questioned whether the company could successfully build an aluminum truck. He believes they’ve proved they can.
“We have learned a huge amount. To be fair, we learned a lot because we owned Jaguar, and they did the XJ in aluminum and a number of us were around at that time and involved in some parts of the project,” he said.
For now, Ford is alone in mass producing aluminum bodied vehicles.
That could change, though. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has said it is thinking about using aluminum on the next generation of the Jeep Wrangler.
The Wrangler is one of the worst fuel economy offenders out there, and weight-savings from aluminum could make a significant difference for Fiat Chrysler. Like the F-150, the Wrangler is a high-volume vehicle, which makes it a more compelling case.
Fiat Chrysler has said it’s still considering the options, though some industry insiders believe a decision has already been made.
Fleming said it takes time to make a switch like that. He doesn’t expect anyone else to bring out an aluminum vehicle in the near term.
“It’s not quick to design a new vehicle out of a different material and do it very rapidly. I would think we’ve probably got a few years,” he said.
Fleming also touched on the early success of Ford’s new Mustang. For the first time in the car’s 50-year history, it’s being marketed and sold throughout the world.
Ford’s still trying to gauge demand for the Mustang outside North America, though there are good early indications. The company says 18,000 people in China have signed up to do test drives.
Ford builds all Mustangs at its Flat Rock, Mich., plant.
