The local introduction of battery-powered utes isn’t a high priority for Ford Australia
DESPITE massive demand for its all-electric F-150 Lightning pick-up over in its home market of North America, Ford is not in a rush to introduce it to an Australian audience.
Instead, Ford Australia is committed to bringing just five electrified vehicles to Australia before the end of 2024. The Escape PHEV plug-in hybrid was the first to lead the charge, with the e-Transit, e-Transit Custom, Mustang Mach-E and Puma EV set to follow it.
But, with the impending subtraction of the Escape from Ford Australia’s line-up, there is now room for one more electrified vehicle to slide in. It will not, however, be the F-150 Lightning.
“It’s ‘never say never’ when it comes to that product,” Ford Australia president and CEO Andrew Birkic told GoAuto.
“It’s a cracking product. However, our philosophy when it comes to F-Series is that we want to run on with the XLT and the Lariat, our focus is really on getting to prove out the remanufacturing, and then we’ll see (about Lightning).”
The F-150 XLT and Lariat variants, which will be remanufactured to right-hand drive for Ford by RMA Automotive at a conversion facility in Mickleham, Victoria, are now available for order with deliveries slated for Q3 2023.
The F-150 XLT retails at $106,950 before on-road costs in short-wheelbase form and $107,945 as a long-wheelbase proposition, while the up-spec F-150 Lariat arrives with a $139,950 sticker for the SWB and $140,945 for the LWB.
With both powered by a conventional 298kW/678Nm 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine, the addition of the Lightning’s sophisticated dual-motor electric powertrain would probably make it one of the most expensive pickups in Australia – though it would seem unlikely to challenge the $209K Ram 1500 TRX for the title of ‘most expensive ute’.
But, GoAuto understands that there’s no chance of the F-150 Lightning being the mystery fifth member of Ford Australia’s electrified quintet, and there are also low odds of it arriving after 2025 as well.
A big part of the reason must surely be red-hot demand for it in Ford’s home market. Though only accounting for a small percentage of overall F-150 sales, Ford North America nevertheless shifted 15,617 F-150 Lightnings in 2022 – and that was with the vehicle only having commenced deliveries in May.
With a reservation book that has American order-holders potentially waiting multiple years to take delivery of their Lightnings, the prospect of clawing away some of that production capacity for the Australian market seems slim to nil.
But while the Lightning may forever be distant, another all-electric utility may step in. An all-electric sidekick for the F-150 Lightning is something that’s been alluded to by Ford CEO Jim Farley, with a projected 2025 launch date.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s head of commercial vehicles has indicated his desire to bring forth an electric derivative of the Amarok – itself developed off the Ranger’s T6 architecture. Both signal that an electric Ranger is hiding in Ford’s product pipeline.
However, will it be a battery-toting variant of the big ute that Aussies have come to love, or will it look a little different?
What’s clear is that Ford will likely need something along those lines to keep pace with the industry, as beyond the LDV eT60 that’s already here, Mitsubishi has announced its intent to deliver an all-electric Triton while Toyota has made much noise about doing similar things with the Hilux.
“I certainly think that there’s two ways you can look at it,” said Mr Birkic, when asked about the prospect of an electrified Ranger.
“There’s what customers say, and there’s also the evolution of the industry. What we know is that customers will adopt great products that are put before them.
“Certainly, there are some fleet customers that will be looking for electrification solutions, right, but we haven’t made any comments when it comes to electrification of Ranger or Everest.
“We’ve future-proofed the platform, but we’ve made no statements (regarding Everest and Ranger).”
Keyword: F-150 Lightning, Ranger EV arrival still unclear