Here we have a video about driving the new Ford prime mover, made in Turkey and aimed at taking on the European truck market. The Ford truck brand survives in Turkey, owned by the Ford Otosan company, based in Istanbul.
Ford Otosan have been building Ford trucks in Turkey since 1965 when D Series production began, this was followed by the many generations of Transit and Cargo models. Ford Otosan had begun as a Ford car dealer back in 1928 and has grown to be the commercial vehicle centre for Ford, including exporting Ford Connect vans to the US, since 2012. That year also saw the launch of the Ford Cargo 1846T, a prime mover developed in Turkey and Brazil.
The latest prime mover from Ford is the F-Max, launched at the IAA Truck Show in Hannover and awarded the prestigious International Truck of the Year for 2019, beating its traditionally awarded European rivals. This is a serious attempt to crack the European market and the first time the award has been given to a truck built outside of Europe.
When news of this award broke on the first day of the IAA, the interest around the world was immense. Diesel News ran the story as it was announced and the online story broke many records, including getting page views for the story from a phenomenal 173 different countries.
The new trucks are built at the company’s İnönü Plant, located in Eskişehir, halfway between Istanbul and Ankara in Central Turkey. The original Cargo design was a co-operative venture between Ford Otosan and Ford Brazil, who both build and sell the model in their home markets.
The new model, the Ford F-Max’s driveline, includes all of the electronic aids included in the European truck ranges, like Eco-Roll, Adaptive Cruise Control and GPS-based Predictive Cruise Control functions. The engine is an in-line six-cylinder 12.7-litre Ford Ecotorq Euro 6 engine rated at 500hp coupled to the ZF 12-speed Traxon automated gearbox.
As shown in this video, the new long-haul cab has a flat floor, a width of 2.5 metres, an interior height of 2.16 metres, with good storage capacity and cockpit-style dashboard featuring a digital instrument cluster. ConnecTruck, the connectivity platform of the vehicle is also a first for the Turkish truck maker.