The best-selling vehicle in the United States is getting exported to Australia for the first time since 1993. Varients of the Ford F-150 pickup remanufactured from left to right-hand drive can be found in local Australian showrooms by mid-2023—increasing market competition between the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500, which are currently imported to the large island-continent.
Ford F-150 Coming To Australia: Details
This decision undoubtedly comes from the fact that Silverado and Ram sales in Australia have been quite successful. In fact, according to CarExpert, sales of full-size American pickup trucks have soared since 2018, and Ford doesn’t want to miss out on the action. So the F-150 is set to be remanufactured to right-hand drive by RMA Automotive at a facility in Mickleham, Victoria. The truck will be backed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometer warranty and will be sold and serviced through the Ford Australia dealer network.
It’s not yet clear how many Ford F-150 pickup trucks will be converted to right-hand-drive, but Ford Australia boss Andrew Birkic has made it clear the Blue Oval wants to sell the F-150 in relatively decent numbers. Ram Australia sold 3,819 examples of the 1500 in Australia during 2021, and GMSV sold 2,114 Silverado 1500 trucks. Both of these vehicles were remanufactured for right-hand drive.
It looks like Ford intends on offering just two trims, the XLT and Lariat, at launch for Australia. The 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6 EcoBoost engine will power both. While the engine has less power than the 6.2-liter engine in the Silverado, it makes up for it with more torque. Braked towing capacity is 4,500 kg (9,920 lbs) which is 1,000 kg (2,204 lbs), more than the Ranger offers.
Ford is aware the F-150 Hybrid, Raptor, Coyote V8 engine, and Lightning variants will likely be in demand in the country and hasn’t ruled out bringing them to Australia. But they will only do so once the remanufacturing process is established and demand for the EcoBoost has been proven. Pricing has yet to be confirmed, but Ford Australia says it will be “priced favorably” alongside the Ram and Silverado 1500.
