Australian-born ute for the US
Ford hints at plans to build and sell the Ranger ute in the USAutomotive News is reporting today that Ford is in discussions with the United Automobile Workers Union about the possibility of producing the Australian designed and engineered Ranger ute in the US.
The breaking report is scant on detail, but suggests a "person with knowledge of the talks" has said that the company is considering building the Ranger at Ford's Michigan assembly plant near Detroit once production of the Focus and C-MAX ends in 2018.
The T6 Ranger – which was developed in Melbourne by Ford's APA Engineering team – is sold in more than 180 countries but not North America, where the previous-generation Ranger ceased production in 2011.
Australia's Ranger is currently built in Thailand but the model is also produced in South Africa, Argentina and Nigeria. It was upgraded this month with a new look, more equipment and a more refined drivetrain.
It's understood higher transaction prices for Ford's biggest-selling and most profitable model, the F-150, are behind Ford openness to consider the introduction of what would be its rival for mid-size pick-ups like the new Toyota Tacoma and the recently reintroduced Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon.
Motoring.com.au will bring you more on this developing story as is breaks.
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