Ford Australia’s F-150 might be over a year away from hitting showrooms, but the Blue Oval brand has already revealed its ambitions on where the full-sized pick-up will be positioned in the local market.
Speaking to media at the reveal event, Ford Australia global trucks enterprise manager Natalie Manariti wouldn’t go into specific pricing details about the F-150 that is planned to launch in mid-2023, but said the brand has the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado in its sights.
“We’re not going to be sharing any pricing information today, and certainly not until closer to the launch, but let me say we’re confident that this will be priced favourably when you look at the existing options in the market,” she said.
The “existing options in the market” include the aforementioned Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado, two similarly-sized pick-ups that are also imported and converted to right-hand drive locally.
The Ram 1500 kicks off at $82,950 before on-road costs, but that is for the entry-level Quad Cab body style that shrinks second-row cabin space in favour of a longer tray.
With the Ford F-150 coming in exclusively in Crew Cab form, it will match up against the $95,950 1500 Express Crew Cab.
However, the aforementioned Ram models are previous-generation cars that are sold alongside the latest ‘DT’ series trucks that starts at $123,900 in Laramie Crew Cab form.
Chevrolet’s Silverado meanwhile, is available in a single grade priced at $113,990.
As a result, it seems likely the 2023 Ford F-150 could start above $100,000, giving it and its smaller Ranger sibling enough clear air.
New-generation Ranger pricing is yet to be revealed, but it will top out with a 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6-powered Raptor flagship, with pricing expected to increase from the current diesel-powered $79,390 figure.
Ford Australia will bring in two grades of the 2023 F-150, the XLT and upmarket Lariat, meaning the top-spec pick-up could sit comfortably in the six-figure price band.
For reference, in the US, the Crew Cab F-150 XLT with the 3.5-litre EcoBoost petrol V6 and 4×4 starts from an MSRP excluding destination charges of $US49,480, which converts to about $A66,109.
The Lariat meanwhile, rises to $US54,825 ($A73,250).
What will likely drive the prices up is the fact that the F-150 will need to be right-hand-drive converted in Australia, which will be done by RMA Automotive Holdings in Melbourne.
The Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado undergo a similar process, where they are imported as left-hand-drive vehicles before being remanufactured for Australian roads.
Despite the remanufacturing process, Ford Australia still backs its F-150 with a full five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.
Ford Australia boss Andrew Birkic reiterated that “we need to be competitive in the market”.
Keyword: Would you pay $100,000 for the 2023 Ford F-150? Australia's latest full-size pick-up to be priced 'favourably' against Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado