The Ford Motor Co. has sold its 500,000th F-150 pickup truck with an EcoBoost V-6 engine, as customers have shifted away from less fuel efficient V-8 engines, according to the automaker.

Since 2010, Ford has accounted for 91 percent of the growth toward V-6 engines in the pickup truck market, according to Ford. With its 2014 F-150, Ford offers two V-6 and two V-8 options, including the 3.5L V-6 EcoBoost. Ford's EcoBoost accounted for 45 percent of F-150 pickup sales in 2014.

General Motors, Ram Trucks, and Toyota included a V-6 engine option with their pickup trucks in the 2014 model year. General Motors offered its Silverado 1500 with a 4.3L EcoTec3 V-6 and the 5.3L EcoTec3 V-8.

The Ram 1500 is available with a 3.6L Pentastar V-6, 5.7L Hemi V-8, or 3.0L EcoDiesel V-6. In the full-size pickup market, Toyota offers its Tundra with two V-8 options. The Toyota Tacoma mid-size pickup offers a 4.0L V-6 or 2.7L four-cylinder engine.

This year has marked a transition for Ford F-150 sales, as buyers have chosen a V-6 option 57 percent of the time. This year has seen a reversal of early five decades of V-8 dominance in light-duty full-size pickups.

As a result of the switch to V-6, pickups equipped with Ford's EcoBoost engine have saves 56.8 million gallons of fuel annually, according to Ford.

The 2015 aluminum F-150 extends the V-6 trend by adding a third V-6 choice, a 2.7L EcoBoost.