Ford adds new off-road ‘Tremor’ pickup to its profitable F-150 lineup

Ford Motor is expanding its highly profitable truck lineup with a new off-road “Tremor” model for the F-150 pickup.

The 2021 F-150 Tremor, announced Tuesday, features all-terrain equipment upgrades in addition to several new features of a redesigned version of the pickup, which is arriving nationwide to dealers across the country. The Tremor model is expected to go on sale next summer, according to Ford.

The new edition to the F-150 is Ford’s latest attempt to grow its loyal truck customers and increase profits by tapping into increasingly popular off-road models. It adds to current Tremor models offered on its larger Super Duty pickups as well as the Ranger midsize pickup.

Ford’s F-Series trucks are a cash-cow for the company, generating a majority of the automaker’s profits and about $42 billion in annual revenue, according to a study Ford commissioned from the Boston Consulting Group. Ford’s automotive revenue came in at $143.6 billion in 2019.

The F-150 Tremor features special badging and design elements as well as added off-road capabilities, including an upgraded suspension and shocks and a “bash plate” to protect the vehicle’s undercarriage. It also adds 33-inch all-terrain tires mounted on matte-finish 18-inch wheels, a 1-inch wider stance and standard four-wheel drive. The vehicle is powered by Ford’s 3.5-liter V-6 engine and 10-speed automatic transmission.

Ford did not release pricing for the F-150 Tremor, but it could come in somewhere between an equally equipped model with its current off-road package, at about $45,000, and Ford’s 2020 F-150 Raptor performance truck, which starts at $53,455.