Ford commercial trucking arm eyes increased software attachment

Ford Pro, Ford Motor Co.’s commercial trucking arm, is looking to double its software attachment rates by 2026 as the OEM continues to ramp its market share dominance.

Ford Pro has about 12 million commercial trucks and vans on the road, with approximately 30% of them connected with embedded modems, Ford Pro Chief Executive Navin Kumar said at the JPMorgan Automotive Conference last week.

“We now have over 450,000 paid software subscribers, and that is nearly 60% year-on-year growth,” he said.

The growth comes at a time when OEMs and vendors in the equipment industry seek ways to increase attachment rates.

“By 2026, this is going to go up to 13.5 million vehicles and nearly 60% of them are going to be connected,” Kumar said. “Our attach rate for those 450,000 subscriptions is about 12%. And this attach rate is going to grow as we expand our software solutions and future portfolio to provide customers with ways to make their fleets more efficient, productive, safe and green.”

A Ford dealership in Richmond, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. U.S. auto sales will climb just 3.4% this year to 15.4 million cars and trucks as the semiconductor shortages continue to constrain vehicle inventory, auto dealers predict. — *Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg*

Kumar said the company is forecasting that software and services profit will be nearly 20% of Ford Pro’s overall profit in 2026.

“We now forecast that Ford Pro’s EBIT will approach $8 billion, driven by sustained net pricing, continued pent-up demand and our fully ramped Super Duty,” he said.

Ford Pro tallied an EBIT margin of more than 15%, driven by strong net pricing and volume growth, Kumar said, noting that Q2 sales for its fully ramped Super Duty jumped 28% year over year.

Ford Pro provides fleet services for contractors, electricians and plumbers, along with larger enterprises, corporates and government and municipal fleets, Kumar said, and holds 41% of the United States commercial van and truck market, “more than double” the next brand.

“Almost one in four fleets in the U.S. are full Ford fleets,” he said.

Ford Pro provides commercial vehicles, software, service, EV charging, insurance and financing solutions to commercial customers, according to the company’s website.

This story first appeared on Auto Finance News, a publication of Royal Media.