GM General Motors Company

Ford Motor Co. delayed by about one month the sale of thousands of new F-150 pickup trucks with improved towing capability and efficiency due to glitches with an advanced 10-speed transmission, the latest challenge the auto maker has faced in a drive to make its cash cows use less fuel.

The Dearborn, Mich., auto maker has worked for several years to make its best-selling work trucks more efficient. A move to make F-150s and heavier-use Super Duty versions with aluminum bodies has been costly, complex and time consuming, for instance, but has helped the company better meet stringent U.S. fuel-economy standards.

The 10-speed transmissions, slated to be fitted on certain F-150s with a turbocharged engine and the sporty "Raptor" performance truck, hit a quality snag during its manufacturing launch. Transmissions—long capped at six speeds—can become more efficient when more speeds are added, but are complicated to build.

Higher-speed transmissions are seen as adding a small percentage of distance to a vehicle's miles-per-gallon rating.

Ford said Tuesday the manufacturing issue slowing the launch has been resolved, and F-150s with the new transmission are now on sale. It is unclear how many units were affected and what financial toll the delay will take on fourth-quarter earnings. The auto maker declined to specify the issue that prompted the delay.

"Launches are complex, and every one of them presents different challenges and opportunities," a Ford spokesman said. "Our process is to work through any issue and ensure that our customers receive a quality vehicle."

Ford sells other variants of the F-150 pickup that have more conventional transmissions and sell in higher numbers. Dealers say they haven't had trouble getting those models.

Other auto makers struggle to maintain quality while introducing new fuel-saving technologies. Consumer Reports and J.D. Power have dinged companies for troubles with new transmissions designed to improve fuel-economy ratings.

Ford has spent several years developing nine- and 10-speed transmissions with rival General Motors Co. as part of a broader effort to defray the hefty cost of introducing more fuel-efficient components. The 10-speed is the first of its kind to debut on a mass-market production vehicle and is aimed at helping the Detroit giants keep pace with rivals rolling out nine-speed transmissions.

At a technical briefing Monday, GM engineers said the rollout of the nine-speed is going smoothly. It is used in a midsize sedan and slated for several more GM models in coming years. It will introduce the 10-speed in a Chevrolet sports car.

Ford began delivering 2017 models of the F-150 in October, but the company sent an email to dealers on Nov. 22 saying shipments of the vehicles with 10-speed transmissions were on hold to complete "a number of retrofits." It pegged the built inventory at more than 15,000 pickups.

"The plants will be doing everything they can to prioritize retail orders and draw down the inventory by the end of the year," the company wrote in the email, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The F-150 truck is among Ford's biggest moneymakers, and the delays come at an inopportune time for the No. 2 U.S. auto maker with U.S. demand for large pickups booming amid continued low gasoline prices.

Ford has encountered other launch delays on its new pickups since making waves in 2015, when it began redesigning its F-series trucks with a new fuel-efficient aluminum body, switching from a steel one.

In late summer, Ford delayed shipments of its new heavy-duty F-Series truck due to a parts issue just as the new redesigned models was starting to arrive in dealerships. Last year, as Ford was ramping up production of its new F-150, the company also struggled with parts problems that forced it to cancel planned overtime and halt the assembly line during regular shifts, leaving dealers short on inventory.

Mike Colias contributed to this article.

Write to Christina Rogers at christina.rogers@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 06, 2016 18:05 ET (23:05 GMT)

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