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It’s apparently not enough for Ford’s Ranger to be a segment benchmark in terms of comfort and technology - the brand wants to be the first to have a plug-in hybrid ute variant on sale in Australia by 2025.
The unexpected announcement comes off the back of a successful hybrid version of its smaller Maverick sibling launching overseas, and will no doubt be a move which its rivals will be watching closely.
So far, detail on the Ranger PHEV has been light. Key things like price have yet to be announced, although Ford was keen to assure fans at the time that the PHEV version would maintain the diesel dual-cab’s 3500kg towing capacity and 951kg payload, despite the addition of a lithium-ion battery to allow the targeted 45km zero-emissions driving range.
Speaking to CarsGuide at the launch of the Mustang Mach-E, Ford Product Communications Manager, Ben Nightingale explained how the brand expects the customer profile to look.
“Is the customer different? Not necessarily, no,” he said. “The key thing to ensure with Ranger PHEV is to carry the key versatility of Ranger - it has to be able to tow 3.5 tonnes, it has to have a good payload, and it has to have the power and torque that our customer has come to expect.
“We expect there will be people who haven’t considered a dual-cab before interested in the PHEV, but a lot of existing buyers are wanting to make that switch. It’s the zero tailpipe emissions, it’s the long driving range, it’s the ability to power your worksite or your campsite which has people excited.”
Meanwhile Ford’s rivals have at best said they’re testing plug-in hybrids, and at worst said their utes won’t be able to accommodate the technology, at least in their current forms, perhaps handing the Blue Oval a significant first-mover advantage.
Toyota has only just added a 48-volt system to its HiLux range, also showing demo examples of both a fully electric last-mile delivery version locally and in Thailand, as well as a hydrogen fuel-cell version in the United Kingdom. This leaves it without a demonstration for a PHEV on this platform, and hasn’t commented on whether it is even possible. A new-generation HiLux is expected to break cover as early as 2025.
Mitsubishi has admitted to significant challenges in developing electrified technology on its new Triton platform, saying the additional weight of the batteries, and where to accommodate them in the frame, posed issues. The brand’s executives told Australian media earlier in the year that while it had tested both technologies it was looking more likely that the Triton would be electrified first with a plugless hybrid system, then would be offered as a PHEV or a BEV later down the track.
The next-generation Triton, equipped with an upgraded twin-turbo 2.4-litre diesel four-cylinder engine will arrive in Australia in February of 2024.
We’re yet to see the next-generation Nissan Navara, which is expected to share its underpinnings with the new Triton, and Isuzu is yet to make any confirmed moves on the electrification front, although international reports suggest an electric D-Max is in the works for an EV-mad Thailand by 2025.
Meanwhile LDV is expected to make a splash with its incoming next-generation EV ute, despite a lacklustre reception to its last-mile focused RWD-only eT60 which carries the title of being Australia’s first fully electric dual cab.
The Ranger will seemingly go it alone for the immediate future, although pricing and supply will be key to its success. Ford hasn’t announced where it will build the PHEV Ranger yet, but notes that the PHEV version of the Escape mid-size SUV was particularly hampered by supply from the beginning, until the announcement of its discontinuation this year.
On the price-front we wouldn’t be surprised to see tags starting north of $80,000 if the brand offers it in dual-cab Wildtrak form only as seen at its reveal. Watch this space.
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