Next Ford F-150 to gain OTA updates, sleeper seat

The next-generation Ford F-150 is due to make its debut next week on June 25, and the Blue Oval has released a shadowy teaser of the pick-up truck’s front end that is highlighted by its square-edged daytime running lights. The new-generation model will pack a host of features including a new sleeper-seat feature in the rear cabin, as well as over-the-air software update capabilities, Reuters reports.

The F-150 has been the best-selling truck in America for 43 years and the country’s best-selling vehicle of any kind for 38 consecutive years, said Ford. The over-the-air capability will enable updates for the truck’s key modules which control vehicle performance as well as user experiences including fleet management solutions for commercial customers, the company added.

The aforementioned sleeper-seat feature in the rear passenger compartment employs a lay-flat configuration like those seen in certain first-class airliner cabins, Reuter quoted a person familiar with the plans, who asked to remain unnamed. “You can basically live in the truck,” the person was quoted as saying.

The F-150’s upgraded interior comes as a response to positive reviews received by its rival, the Dodge Ram which featured an optional 12-inch screen in the cabin. “Ram taught everybody a little bit of a lesson. The old five-inch screen for your navigation and radio controls is gone. They’re all going to be 10-, 12-, or 15-inch screens, which was started by Tesla,” said Rhett Ricart, owner of Ricart Ford dealership in Ohio.

Ford has borrowed over US$20 billion (RM85.6 billion) in order to weather the economic troubles resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, and profits from the newest iteration of the historically best-selling F-150 will be key to repaying those loans, Reuters reported.

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