The new Ford Ranger has launched amid supply and pricing issues never before faced by the automotive industry. How will it affect Ford Ranger supply?
It’s been almost seven years in the making, but the latest version of the Ford Ranger hits showrooms in Australia today, with new safety technology, updated powertrain and revised design inside and out.
But it’s been a difficult couple of years for the wider industry, thanks to rising costs and component supply issues (and not just microchips).
It’s set to be a challenging 24 months ahead as well, thanks to rampant inflation, fluctuating fuel pricing and continued parts supply pain.
So how will this affect the most important product launch for Ford Australia in recent years?
According to the company’s CEO, Andrew Birkic (below), it’s a little bit of a case of ‘suck it and see’ when it comes to forward orders of Ford’s best-selling vehicle.
Ranger model mix yet to settle
The fireworks at launch for the T6.2 Ranger have been around the new V6-powered Wildtrak, but it is the lower-spec grades that will provide the bread and butter for Ford’s approximately 190 dealerships – and according to Birkic, there is still some work to be done.
Addressing Australian automotive media at the Ranger launch in Melbourne, Birkic said that the shortage of microchips will be a “key driver” when it comes to supply going forward, and fleet customers are yet to be exposed to the new Ranger in a meaningful way.
He also pointed to the fact that the predicted model mix production plan was laid out some time back, so the Thai factory will need to work through that in the immediate term, as well as settle in the updated production line.
“We determined the mix some time ago and we also have customers who want the other vehicles as well, so we will build the mix as we pre-determined because that is what we need to do to prove out engineering in the plant,” said Birkic.
Birkic said that the allocation of the more entry-level Ranger XLT (below) and Ranger XLS grades is largely dependent on dealer location.
“Some dealers have larger allocations or they have more fleet business whereas some are more retail,” he said.
“So they might have soaked up V6 Wildtrak-type demand, whereas some might have greater spec because they do retail, fleet and government. It really depends on the dealer.”
Model mix estimations aren’t easy
The appetite for dual-cab utes – and highly-specced ones in particular – has grown exponentially in Australia over the last five years.
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Given that specifications and model mixes are signed off up to two years in advance, it has the potential to give a company a black eye if the model mix dates poorly in the face of changing customer sentiment.
“It’s very difficult at the launch phase because we determined that mix sometime back based on our research and based on what we knew with the prior one,” explained Birkic. “And that will change.”
Ford Ranger Wildtrak V6 video review
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://editorial.csnstatic.com/editors/tim-robson-author.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Tim Robson[/author_info] [/author]
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