New hybrid-electrics including F-150, Mustang, Explorer, Escape and Bronco to be added to the mix. Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – April 15, 2017 Ford just announced it going to completely redesign its lineup with focus on its truck, SUV and commercial vehicles. From the release, new propulsion and connectivity will empower tomorrow’s Ford vehicles. By 2020, Ford will offer North America’s freshest lineup among all full-line automakers, with its average showroom age dropping from 5.7 to 3.3 years as it replaces three-quarters of its lineup and adds four new trucks and SUVs. On the hybrid front, Ford stated it will be offering more performance and efficiency. All these vehicles will have 4G LTE connectivity by the end of 2019. Ford is also introducing Ford Co-Pilot360 driver-assist technology package with standard automatic emergency braking. Trucks: Ford’s truck business will continue growing as the company adds new models and powertrains. 2018: The all-new 3.0L Power Stroke turbo diesel for F-150 is just weeks away while an updated version of the Raptor is also scheduled. 2019: Ranger returns as does an all new Super Duty. 2020: New F-150 debuts with new hybrid powertrain featuring a mobile generator. SUVs: By 2020, Ford plans eight SUVs – five of which will offer hybrid powertrains and one battery electric. Ford SUV sales are estimated to grow 20 percent – more than double the industry rate – to more than 950,000 by 2020, according to LMC Automotive, and surpass 1 million by 2021. Entirely new versions of the Escape and Explorer debut next year. Next-Gen Hybrid Electrics: Part of Ford’s new strategy includes going all-in on hybrids to bring more capability to customers of our most popular and high-volume vehicles including the F-150, Mustang, Explorer, Escape and Bronco. Ford’s new hybrids will offer larger passenger and cargo volumes than today’s hybrids. On the F-150 Hybrid, Ford will offer more low-end torque and a mobile generator. Mustang Hybrid will be all about delivering V8-like performance with more low-end torque. Ford’s new hybrid systems are designed to be more efficient and less expensive than previous generations. The lower costs are achieved with common cell and component design and by manufacturing motors, transmissions and battery packs together. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will include an effortless charging experience – Inductive charging maybe? – plus include over-the-air software updates to enhance capability and features. Ford’s BEV manufacturing plan will reduce capital investment 50 percent with a projected 30 percent improvement in labor efficiency. Ford’s new performance battery electric utility arrives in 2020. It is the first of six electric vehicles coming by 2022 as part of the company’s $11 billion global electric vehicle investment. Commercial vehicles: Ford, the only full-line brand with offerings that stretch from Class 1 to Class 7, has a commanding 38 percent share of the U.S. commercial vehicle market. Last year, it sold more CVs than the second, third and fourth place competitors combined. Ford also plans to debut a new Transit with 4G LTE connectivity in 2019 and offer Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Driver Alert System and more on future E-Series, F-650, F-750 and F59 chassis products. Manufacturing Updates Ford also is moving to flexible vehicle architectures and more common parts across models, cutting new product development time – from sketch to dealer showroom – by 20 percent. This is helping Ford achieve its commitment to deliver $4 billion of engineering efficiencies. The company intends to have the most efficient Product Development organization among full-line automakers within five years. Ford’s five flexible vehicle architectures – body-on-frame, front-wheel-drive unibody, rear-wheel-drive unibody, commercial van unibody and BEV – are paired with module “families” that address the power pack, electrical pack and vehicle configurations. Seventy percent of each vehicle’s engineering will be driven from this new architecture approach, with 30 percent of content – including grilles, hoods, doors and more – customized for each vehicle. Simplification is another key aspect of the plan. Ford already has reduced orderable combinations on Ford SUVs by 80 percent since 2014, including a 97 percent reduction on the new Edge coming later this year. New manufacturing tools and technologies: Increased use of augmented and virtual reality are helping reduce Ford’s plant changeover time by an estimated 25 percent, which adds an average $50 million to the company’s bottom line per changeover. Simulating various production processes and assembly line configurations in the virtual world helps identify potentially hazardous maneuvers and fine-tune workflows before construction even begins, saving an estimated 20 percent of tooling cost on each vehicle program. The company also is increasing its use of collaborative robots that can perform jobs quickly and repetitively, helping reduce the risk of injury to employees, freeing them up for more high-value jobs and improving the company’s bottom line. All-in, a lot of new exciting Ford products will arrive with efficient technologies being introduced up and down the lineup.
Good. Ford (like Toyota) has a great hybrid architecture. It will be good to see it rolled out to more platforms. Was disappointing to see the Escape Hybrid disappear with the last generation. I understand the current Escape gets the same highway mpg as the previous hybrid, but city mpg of course took a hit. Since the escape (like all too many CUVs) doesn't have an MT option, it might as well offer a hybrid version for those who still want to opt out of the agony of slushboxes, DCTs and mechanical CVTs.
