Μπορεί οι πωλήσεις της Ford στην Ευρώπη να μην καταρρίπτουν ρεκόρ λόγω κρίσης αλλά στις Η.Π.Α. πάνε από το καλό στο καλύτερο όπως έχουμε δει και σε άλλα δημοσιεύματα. Αυτή τη φορά το μοντέλο που “πετάει” είναι το F-150 SVT Raptor.
To off-road-ready όχημα της Ford, σημείωσε ρεκόρ πωλήσεων στους 8 από τους τελευταίους 10 μήνες με 14% περισσότερα οχήματα να βρίσκουν ιδιοκτήτες. Και το κατάφερε αυτό παρότι το φθηνότερο Raptor κοστίζει 44.000 δολάρια και η κατανάλωση καυσίμου του, ακόμα και για τα Αμερικανικά δεδομένα, είναι ελαφρώς αυξημένη -21 l/100km στην πόλη και 15 στον αυτοκινητόδρομο-.
Παρά λοιπόν αυτά τα “μειονεκτήματα”, τα SVT Raptors περνούν μονάχα 15 ημέρες καθήμενα στις εκθέσεις πριν κάποιος έρθει να τους δώσει σπίτι, επίδοση που είναι σημαντικά καλύτερη από τις 60 ημέρες που είναι ο μέσος όρος για την βιομηχανία.
Αυτό που βοηθάει τις πωλήσεις του Raptor είναι ότι το αμάξι προσφέρει απαράμιλλες off-road επιδόσεις στους πελάτες μας. Το Raptor είναι επίσης απόδειξη της δέσμευσής μας να προσφέρουμε ένα truck για κάθε πελάτη και να βελτιώνουμε συνέχεια το προϊόν ώστε να ικανοποιήσουμε τους αγοραστές.
Είπε ο Doug Scott, Ford Truck Group Marketing Manager. Για να ικανοποιήσει την αυξημένη ζήτηση για Raptors, η Ford θα αυξήσει την παραγωγή από 3 οχήματα την ώρα σε 5, δηλαδή 48 αυτοκίνητα περισσότερα την ημέρα.
[Πηγή: Ford]
[learn_more caption=”Δελτίο Τύπου”]
STRONG CUSTOMER DEMAND DRIVES FORD F-150 SVT RAPTOR SALES TO NEW HEIGHTS
Raptor sales have hit record highs in 8 of the past 10 months
Ford growing the market for increasingly specialized full-sized pickup trucks
Since launching in 2009, production has increased from two trucks per hour to five
Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, the ultimate high-performance off-road pickup truck, continues to find new fans and sales success.
Hitting the market in 2009, Raptor has had record sales during 8 of the past 10 months and sales are up 14 percent in 2013. Raptor is also one of the fastest-turning vehicles in the automotive industry, with only a 15-day supply on dealer lots.
Day supply is common industry measurement of retail customer sales demand. The lower the figure, the less time a vehicle remains on a dealer lot before it’s sold. A 60-day supply is considered average for the auto industry.
“What’s helping drive Raptor sales is that Raptor delivers unmatched off-road performance to our customers,” said Doug Scott, Ford truck group marketing manager. “Raptor is also proof of our commitment to offer a truck for every customer and continuously improving them to meet our customers’ evolving needs.”
The 2014 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Special Edition is the latest variant. Following the 2013 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, which added available segment-exclusive HID headlights and industry-first factory forged-aluminum conventional wheels that can be upgraded to beadlocks, the 2014 Raptor Special Edition adds interior and exterior upgrades to further differentiate its appearance and appeal to luxury truck buyers looking for uncompromising off-road performance.
With Raptor sales expected to remain strong, Ford will increase Raptor production, growing assembly from three trucks per hour to five trucks per hour.
The growing demand and increase in production points to a larger phenomenon of increased specialization in the full-size pickup category.
While trucks traditionally have been bought by businesses and individuals to do the hard work of building and moving America, buyers have increasingly flocked to pickups offering exceptional luxury, performance or in the case of the new Raptor Special Edition, both.
SVT Raptor prowess and power
Since launching as a 2010 model, the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor has set the benchmark for low- and high-speed off-road performance through aggressive all-terrain tires, industry-exclusive internal triple-bypass FOX Racing Shox ™ dampers, skid plates and standard Hill Descent Control ™.
A Raptor development imperative has been continuous improvement, so Ford expanded Raptor’s footprint for 2011 with a four-door SuperCrew® model joining the two-door SuperCab original.
For 2012 Ford began offering a grille-mounted camera to improve driver visibility when climbing over rocks or other obstacles. The 2012 addition of a Torsen® limited-slip differential to Raptor’s 4WD system enables the truck to balance traction between both front wheels.
For 2013 industry-exclusive beadlock-capable wheels were added to help increase grip in low-traction conditions, along with high-intensity discharge headlamps for improved visibility. SYNC® with MyFord Touch® also was made available for added connectivity.
SVT Raptor is available exclusively with a 6.2-liter V8 engine producing 411 horsepower and 434 lb.-ft. of torque, mated to an electronic six-speed automatic transmission with tow/haul mode and SelectShift Automatic ® functionality. The 4WD system features electronic shift-on-the-fly capability for the transfer case.
The front axle features a Torsen differential with 4.10:1 gearing. The rear axle is also 4.10:1, with a high speed electronic-locking differential.
[/learn_more]