Ford releases first pictures of new long-haul tractor unit

Ford has released the first official pictures of the long-haul truck it's going to launch at the IAA Show in Hannover in September.

The manufacturer has claimed that the flat floor tractor unit, pictured in in Ford blue, will be every bit as good as its rivals in the European truck market.

Director of international trucks Emrah Duman told CM: “There will no longer be seven sisters, there will be eight. And we have ambitions to enter all the markets that they are present in.”

The tractor unit has been in development since 2013, and features a 2.5m-wide cab and a flat floor.

CM readers gave a mixed bag of responses to their first sight of the new truck on social media channels.

"Thinking a cross between a Volvo FH and a Series S Scania. It doesn't look too bad though," said Susan Sullivan.

Graham Wilson said: "I think it looks pretty smart! But I would be worried about whether they have the dealer network in place to support it."

Less enamoured was Charlie Chester, who commented: "They’ve had all that time to draw up something ground breaking, modern, stylish, sleek, future proof, and they come up with this!? Unbelievable."

While some responded to the pictures with “fantastic truck” and “I’ll have one of them”,  Daniel Blane added simply: "Looks kinda garden shed-ish."

The truck will be built in Turkey, but the manufacturer was keen to stress when it announced the vehicle that it will for use throughout mainland Europe.

Ford intends to open a service network across Western Europe and is in the process of doing so, but has no immediate plans to sell trucks in the UK.

As for a right hand drive version of the new truck, the name of which is yet to be revealed, Duman said that Ford would need a strong business case to produce one.

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