Ford will launch a new, cheaper midsize ute for markets outside North America next year.
“Next year we will be launching our affordable midsize pickup for international markets,” chief executive Jim Farley says.
Speaking on Ford’s third-quarter earnings call last week, Farley says the truck’s base material costs are expected to be 20% lower than today’s Ranger. He says it is designed to do internationally what the Maverick has done in the US, bringing new customers into Ford’s truck lineup at a cost that lets it compete with the Chinese brands.
Ford hasn’t named the ute or said which
Ford hasn’t named the ute or said which markets will get it or where it will be built.
Farley says Chinese competition is most intense in Latin America and Southeast Asia, where Ford has a large Ranger business. He says the Ranger is holding up there because it sells at a much higher price point than the Chinese utes.
“We’re going to be going into their price point next year,” he says.
Australian media have suggested the new ute could come from one of Ford’s two Chinese joint-venture partners, Changan or JMC.
Ford owns 32% of JMC, which builds
Ford owns 32% of JMC, which builds the Bronco Basecamp and the Transit City van, the first China-built Fords to be sold in New Zealand.
JMC also sells utes under its own badge, and its Grand Avenue double-cab is set to launch here through Armstrong’s. The Grand Avenue shares the current Ranger’s 3270mm wheelbase and, according to overseas reports, rides on a chassis developed with Ford. Its 155kW/500Nm 2.5-litre turbo-diesel is a development of an engine used in an earlier Ranger.
Farley didn’t say who would build the new ute. He did name JMC on the call, alongside Geely and Ford’s new Universal EV platform, ashe core of the business
Looking ahead to 2027, Farley says Ford Pro
Looking ahead to 2027, Farley says Ford Pro will expand its global Ranger and Transit lineups with all-new price points.
He says the Ranger leads in many markets, including Australia, where the Ranger Super Duty became the top seller in the heavy-duty midsize ute segment in its first year.
Farley also says Ford is the leading traditional carmaker exporting from China, with exports up around 60%, and that the China-built Territory is Ford’s second most profitable vehicle globally.
Ford reported third-quarter revenue of US$49.5 billion and adjusted EBIT of US$2.7 billion, and raised the lower end of its full-year adjusted EBIT guidance to between US$10.5 billion and US$11 billion.
