Ford F-150: A cost analysis of moving to aluminium

Ford has surely started a trend in a shift from steel to aluminium for its F-150 pick-up truck. But how does the cost-benefit stack up for Ford?

Ford to switch more pick-ups to ally by 2017

Ford has invested billions of dollars in engineering and manufacturing resources to develop its thirteenth-generation F-Series, which enters production in 3Q14 at Dearborn and Kansas City according to the Society of Automotive Engineers, (SAE).

The F-150 is the initial step in a larger strategy by Ford to convert all of its full-size trucks, including F-250/350 and the large Ford and Lincoln SUVs built in Louisville, to primarily aluminium construction by 2017, the engineers said.