Westport Launches Ford F-450, F-550 with CNG Bi-Fuel System, USA

Westport Innovations announced that its proven Westport WiNG™ Power System, a compressed natural gas (CNG) bi-fuel system, will be available for order on the Ford F-450 and F-550 Super Duty Chassis Cab trucks starting April 1, 2013.

The trucks will make their debut at next week’s National Truck Equipment Association Work Truck Show in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Assembled alongside the popular Westport powered Ford F-250 and F-350 trucks at the Westport Kentucky Integration Center (WKIC), a Ford Qualified Vehicle Modifier (QVM) audited facility, the new F-450 and F-550 trucks have undergone the same rigorous testing for safety and durability used by Ford for all its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) products. With the WKIC located adjacent to Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant, the 2013 F-450 and F-550 trucks will use the same integrated transportation system as other Westport powered Ford products to reduce delivery costs to the customer.

Available exclusively for order at Westport authorized Ford dealerships, the Ford F-450 and F-550 Super Duty Chassis Cab trucks with the Westport WiNG Power System are delivered key-READY™ to customers and come with a warranty that matches the Ford warranty for all similar powertrain and emissions components.

“The expansion of our product line builds upon our proven technology of the Westport WiNG Power System and extends our product availability to a different end user,” said John Lapetz , Vice President Westport LD and Managing Director, North American Vehicle Programs. “With a higher degree of application flexibility and increased gross vehicle weight, the Ford F-450 and F-550 Super Duty trucks allow us to grow a solid footprint with customers who were not serviced with the Ford F-250 and F-350 CNG bi-fuel trucks.”

The new Ford F-450 and F-550 Super Duty trucks with the Westport WiNG Power System are an ideal application for fleets in natural resource industries, construction, delivery, public utilities as well as government and transit operators. The trucks offer fleets the opportunity to use a cleaner, domestic fuel that offers savings between 30 to 60 percent with payback demonstrated in as little as two years.

For commercial fleet customers that require the Ford F-450 and F-550 Super Duty Chassis Cab trucks to be equipped to handle various jobsite environments, commercial vehicle bodies can be used with the Westport WiNG bi-fuel system.

“In partnership with service body companies based in Louisville, Kentucky, Westport will integrate the Westport WiNG Power System on the Ford F-450 and F-550 trucks with second unit bodies,” said John Howell , Senior Director, Marketing, Westport. “Many standard configurations exist for bodies with a minimum of 84CA used in combination with a tank pack and custom bi-fuel configurations can be engineered for virtually any second-unit body with a minimum order of 10 units.”

Starting at an industry leading price of $9,500, the Westport WiNG Power System is integrated on the 6.8-liter V10 engine of the Ford F-450 and F-550 trucks and offers a combined fuel range of approximately 650 miles (at nine MPG) with maximum CNG capacity (42 gasoline gallon equivalent) and a standard 40-gallon gasoline tank capacity. For customers who want to eliminate the anxiety of operating on natural gas only, the Super Duty trucks with the Westport system will run on conventional gasoline once the CNG fuel is depleted.

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LNG World News Staff, February 27, 2013