$1,768 a Month, with $10,407 Down, 5% APR, on a Ford Pickup?
Automakers need to do some serious navel-gazing about price levels and going upscale, if they want to sell more vehicles.
To illustrate the data we’re going to look at in a moment, I “built” a 2023 model year F-250 Lariat on Ford’s website: MSRP $104,070. I could build something more expensive in the F-350 lineup. Ford suggested to finance it with Ford Credit. With a down payment of $10,407, and a term of five years, at 5% APR, I would end up with a monthly payment of $1,768. Screenshot from Ford’s website:
There is a wide range of options and trim packages, particularly among trucks. I also “built” a 2023 F-150 Lariat, and it ended up with an MSRP of $90,780. Ford suggested to lease it from Ford Credit with $9,014 down, over 48 months, for $1,007 per month. Screenshot from Ford’s website:
According to Experian’s State of the Automotive Finance Market report for loans originated in Q3 2022, the average monthly payment for the F-150 in Q3 rose to $893 a month; for the Ram 1500, it rose to $860; for the Chevy Silverado 1500, it rose to $808.
Pickup trucks have long been among the bestselling new-vehicle segments in the US. They’re a huge part of the business. Ford didn’t take EVs seriously until Tesla threatened to build a pickup five years ago. That’s when Ford got religion and dove into EVs and has come out with an electric pickup to defend its core turf, while we’re still listening to Tesla threatening to come out with one. Ford lives and dies by its pickups.
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