Some call it a gamble.
After all, going from panels built primarily out of steel to panels built primarily out of high strength aluminum required Ford to re-tool its truck plant in Dearborn. And while greater amounts of aluminum are now used in a whole host of vehicles, this is a major shift being applied to the best-selling vehicle in the world.
Which raises the question, how will we know if Ford’s new truck is a hit?
Sales
It will take time for the new F-Series to roll into showrooms. After all, Ford is just ramping up production.
Truck buyers are among the most loyal in the auto business and there should be no shortage of buyers.
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The real issue is whether Ford will be able to command the 4 percent to 5 percent premium it’s traditionally enjoyed compared with the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.
Clean Launch
This is what investors will be watching closely.
That includes Matt Stover, who covers the auto industry at CIG Research, which makes a market in Ford securities.
“Look, every new vehicle launch has some issue. The question is whether Ford can avoid major hiccups,” he said.
Stover and others on Wall Street will be watching to see if Ford’s “scrappage rate”—pieces of the new trucks that are scrapped because of problems—is unusually high as the company starts stamping aluminum panels and boosting production.