Ford to up the ante with new F-150 truck

By Poornima Gupta

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co's (F.N) revamped F-150 full-size pickup truck that will debut at the Detroit Auto Show will be towing some unusually heavy baggage -- the U.S. automaker's future.

An all-new version of Ford's F-Series pickup trucks, which has been America's best-selling vehicle for 31 years and remains the most profitable vehicle in Ford's line-up, is scheduled to make its public debut on Sunday in Detroit.

The automaker, which has said its turnaround efforts hinge on exciting new products, is counting on the new trucks to help stem its protracted decline in U.S. sales.

Ford executives have often described the truck, which accounts for about 30 percent of Ford's U.S. sales, as central to the success of the company.

"It's their most important product, the product they make their most money on," said Global Insights analyst Rebecca Lindland. "It's a vehicle that is very vital to their financial health."

Ford needs the revamped truck, which has been completely redesigned with more interior features, to be a bigger success than the last version that sold over 900,000 units in 2004 and 2005, its first two full-year of sales.

Erich Merkle, director of forecasting for automotive consulting firm IRN Inc, said the redesigned F-150 pickup truck was "paramount" for Ford.

"They have got to succeed," he said.

Ford, which lost its No.2 position in the U.S. market to Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) last year, has seen its overall U.S. sales slip 12 percent for 2007, partly because of lower demand for its pickup trucks.

The automaker lost $12.6 billion in 2006 and by Ford's own estimate, its North American unit will lose money until 2009 and run through up to $14 billion in cash by then.

Merkle said he expected the new truck to garner a favorable impression overall.

"From a design perspective Ford did a bang-up job on it," he said, adding that with the new truck, Ford has a chance to increase its share in the segment.

TOUGH MARKET

U.S. sales of Ford's F-Series, which includes both F-150 and the Super Duty, were down 13 percent to over 690,000 vehicles last year in a segment that had an overall decline of 3 percent despite several new products and aggressive incentive spending.

"It's probably going to be a pretty tough year again for this segment," Ford sales analyst George Pipas said.