Blue Oval brand confirms Aussie-engineered ute will be produced and sold in world’s biggest auto market
Australia’s top-selling ute so far this year, the Ford Ranger, will be manufactured in China following the Aussie-developed global pick-up’s debut at the 2023 Shanghai motor show this week.
While the Ford Ranger has been available in China since 2018, it was previously sourced from Thailand (where Australia’s vehicles are made), so this is the first time the ute will be produced in China, the world’s largest new-vehicle market.
That means the new Ranger – released in Australia in August last year and named carsales Best Dual-Cab 4×4 Ute of 2022 in October – will become one of the world’s most global vehicles, manufactured in Thailand, South Africa (alongside the new Volkswagen Amarok) and now China.
Like its predecessor, the new Ranger will also be built in North America and Argentina by the end of this year and both Vietnam and Cambodia via CKD (completely knocked down) assembly.
Now sold in more than 180 countries around the world – more than any other Ford vehicle – the Ranger was first introduced in 1982 and has attracted more than eight million sales globally.
Ford hasn’t confirmed when or where Ford Ranger production will start in China, but stated it will develop and offer “…optional OEM accessories for Ranger that are fully homologated to Chinese customers”.
It’s not clear which of its two joint-ventures Ford will leverage to build the Ranger in China, but JMC and Changan are the two options on the table at present.
The Changan-Ford JV is responsible for several Blue Oval models in China, including the Ford Escort, Explorer, Mondeo and Evos, while JMC currently builds the Everest SUV in China.
Ford has also confirmed the Bronco will be exported from the USA to China in due course, while other models such as the Ford F-150 are already on the menu in the world’s most populous nation.
Other details around the Chinese-built Ranger are still unknown, such as which powertrains will be offered and whether more market-specific changes will be made.
While the Toyota HiLux is the Ranger’s arch-enemy in Australia, rivals in China will include several model also sold in Australia, such as the LDV T60 and GWM Ute.
China’s ute market has grown rapidly over the past few years, but North America is still the world’s biggest pick-up market, followed by Thailand and countries like South Africa and Australia.
Mid-size utes like the Ranger now account for more than 40 per cent of the global pick-up market, overtaking full-size pick-ups like the F-150, which has been produced over 14 generations since 1948 and remains North America’s top-selling model – and is finally coming to Australia this year following the first official local right-hand drive conversion program.
For everything you auto know about EVs, listen to carsales’ Watts Under the Bonnet: the electric car podcast
Join the conversation at our Facebook page Or email us at [email protected]
Keyword: Australian-developed Ford Ranger to be built in China