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Ford F-150 not wanted in Australia

The Blue Oval says its new Ford F-150 truck is not suited to the Australian market, which it believes is catered for adequately by the smaller Ford Ranger.


Speaking with CarAdvice at the Detroit auto show, Ford Motor Company group vice president of global product development Raj Nair confirmed the new US-built truck was not destined for Australia, emphasising that the company’s internal research showed there was negligible demand for utes larger than the Ranger in Australia.

“The research we’ve seen says the Ranger does a pretty good job for that market in Australia,” Nair said.

“Obviously the Ranger is designed for right-hand drive so we are quite happy with the performance of Ranger this year [2013)]. It’s a great offering, it's a great truck.”

The new Ford F-150 has been praised for its use of lightweight aluminium and high-strength steel, reducing the mass of the truck by up to 300kg, as well as offering a 2.7-litre EcoBoost engine in the new generation of the best-selling truck in North America for the past 37 years.

Pushed on why under the company’s 'One Ford' policy - which emphasis a global strategy in product manufacturing - the F-150 isn’t made available in right-hand drive, Nair said the Ranger is the chosen truck for the rest of the world and not the F-150.

“The F-150 is a great solution for here [North America] and the Ranger is a great solution for the rest of the world. The Ranger isn't a compact truck for the rest of the world, it’s the truck for the rest of the world.”

Conversely, he noted that the Australian-designed and -engineered Ford Ranger wouldn’t work in the North American market where customers demanded larger vehicles.

Do you think the new Ford F-150 would sell well in Australia?

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