Detroit Free Press: Marick Masters on Ford Super Duty orders
Ford shattered a sales record for the month of November after reaching a record-setting pace of 52,518 new orders for the 2023 Super Duty pickup in the last five days of October, when it averaged more than 10,000 trucks a day, according to monthly sales data. But the November sales report nearly triples that figure. The Super Duty pickup has a base price of $43,970 that often climbs past $90,000, depending on amenities selected by the buyer. Options include type of engine, wheels, tires, cloth or leather interior, display screen size and massaging seats. Ford now has orders for 151,870 Super Duty trucks since the order bank opened Oct. 27, the company revealed Friday. Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University, said Ford has a high-stakes interest in maintaining the appeal of the Super Duty that goes beyond just happy customers who want a pickup with a traditional internal combustion engine that pulls enormous loads of weight. These are the products that fund the future at Ford in electrification and technology research, he said. "This bodes well for the company's future," Masters said. "The sheer volume of orders is particularly surprising. It's very important for the company to have high levels of sales in these profitable areas."
