EcoBoost Engines Prove Much More Popular With Consumers Than Ford Expected

EcoBoost Engines Prove Much More Popular With Consumers Than Ford Expected

By Scott Doggett November 13, 2009

Far more customers are choosing Ford vehicles packing fuel-efficient EcoBoost engines than the automaker expected, according to an analysis of sales data.

As a result, the company is hurrying to put the V-6 version of the motor in new vehicles, including the F-150 pickup in the United States and the Ford Falcon sedan in Australia. Next year, the company intends to roll out new four-cylinder models in the U.S. and in Europe.

"It clearly was part of our plan to distinguish us in a very crowded marketplace," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford's global head of product development. "It's doing that very well."

EcoBoost customers pay $5,000 to $10,000 more for their vehicles than those who buy the same products without it. This has been one of the leading factors for the automaker's $3.8 billion net pricing gain since the beginning of the year, analyst Erich Merkle of Autoconomy.com told The Detroit News.

"It's EcoBoost, plus everything Ford is doing on the quality side, the design side and safety side as well," Merkle said. "They're hitting on multiple fronts. EcoBoost is an important piece of their competitive strategy. It will become a bigger competitive advantage for them as they start to expand it down into their higher-volume vehicles."

Younger Buyers

EcoBoost engine technology is driving younger, more affluent customers to Ford showrooms, the company said in a statement today, adding that "many of these buyers are hot to trade in their competitive-make vehicles to get their hands on one equipped with the fuel-efficient direct-injection turbocharged EcoBoost engine."

EcoBoost technology is helping bring in a new customer to Ford dealer showrooms, said Amy Marentic, Ford group marketing manager. She said this customer is younger, more affluent, and more often trades in competitive products.

Living proof is the all-new Ford Taurus SHO, with EcoBoost as standard equipment, she said. The average SHO buyer is 54 years old -- 10-plus years younger than the base-model Taurus customer -- and second youngest in its segment.

The median household income of the SHO buyer is $20,000 more than the base Taurus customer, Marentic said. And as for "conquests," nearly 55 percent of buyers are trading in Toyota Avalons, Nissan Altimas and Chevy Monte Carlos, among other competitive products, to drive away in a Taurus SHO. That's the second-highest conquest rate in the segment, she said.

Scott Doggett:  is an AutoObserver.com Associate Editor.