Yep, you read that right, Ford is bringing the F-150 (back) to Australia, officially – and you’ll see them on the roads here from mid next year.
This is not a third party looking to capitalise on the boom in big utes, or trucks as the Americans call them – this is Ford Australia making a business decision to put the F-150 into the Aussie Built-Ford-Tough lineup.
But, it’s not coming Right-Hand-Drive from the factory in Dearborn Michigan, instead, they will be shipped here in and remanufactured as Right-Hand-Drive for the Aussie market.
That remanufacturing process is nothing new in Australia, everything from the Silverado, the Camaro and the segment leader here the RAM 1500 are re-done locally, but for Ford Australia to be leading this process is a big step up for the industry.
Ford Specialists will work with a company called RMA Automotive, who don’t have experience in mass conversions like this, but have clearly impressed Ford enough to get the business. RMA will have a dedicated production line in Melbourne for these conversions, and while Ford aren’t setting any public targets, if I was to read the vibe in the room, they have lofty goals here for the F-150.
Ford Australia President and CEO Andrew Birkic says “We’ve listened hard to fans and dealers and found a way to bring F-150 to Australia. As the pinnacle of ‘Built Ford Tough’, it will give our customers even more choice when they’re in the market for a pick-up. We just can’t wait to unleash it,” said
“F-150 has been part of F-Series, America’s best-selling vehicle line for the past 40 years, with more than 40 million F-Series Trucks produced to date. With such a local fan base, and with full-size truck sales in Australia tripling in recent years, we just knew we had to find a way to bring it back to Australia.”
Ford USA sell 50,000 to 80,000 F -Series trucks PER MONTH in the States, so surely supply won’t be a problem here, the question is demand, and while there’s no doubt an appetite, that will all come down to price.
Toyota’s Hilux sold 3577 last month, Triton 3461 and Ranger 3196. The RAM 1500 was sold to 262 buyers, and you’d have to think Ford would be looking to not just match and surpass that number, but get more people into showrooms to help boost Ranger numbers at the same time with a new model coming mid this year.
They’re certainly going all-in, the question is, what will it be priced at.
Ford Australia say they need to be competitive, so expect the Ford F-150 to range between $99,000 and $140,000 depending on specs, but who knows!
We’ll get more on pricing late this year or early next year – today’s news is just to create hype, and hype they will get.
