Is Ford planning a Ranger Super Duty PHEV?
Ford exec says brand’s new tough truck “is not about that” when asked about electrificationThe News
Though Ford is one of the few ute manufacturers to throw its hat into the ‘electrified ute’ ring with its Ranger plug-in hybrid (PHEV), the company has no plans to meld its ultra-rugged Ranger Super Duty – which officially enters showrooms this week – with an electrified powertrain.
The Key Details
- An electric heavy-duty ute makes no sense for ford, execs say
- Requirements for range, towing, payload and durability get in the way of electrification
The Finer Details
For Ford’s super-rugged Ranger Super Duty, the idea of grafting in an electrified powertrain was deemed fundamentally incompatible with the jobs the super-ute was designed to perform, according to senior staff at Ford Australia.
When asked about the potential for an electric Ranger Super Duty, which could leverage the massive torque output of electric drive motors to move heavy loads and conquer challenging terrain, the president and CEO of Ford Australia, Andrew Birkic, was blunt.
“Nothing to comment on our future plan, but Ranger Super Duty is not about that,” said Birkic.
“We think Ranger Super Duty has a very broad application, and the attributes of the 4.5-tonne towing or the GVM (gross vehicle mass) or GCM (gross combination mass), but to do that in a BEV (battery electric vehicle)… I’m not an engineer, but I think you’d find that would be very difficult to do”.
Drew O’Shannassy, supervising engineer of the Ranger Super Duty program, concurred: “I think payload and towing are the enemy of electric vehicles,” he said.
“I’ve been to a lot of mine sites to ask them what they need, and they said they needed something like [Ranger Super Duty], and to get that kind of capability from electric is just too hard.”
Instead, the Ranger Super Duty makes its power with a detuned version of Ford’s ancient ‘Lion’ 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6, which produces 154kW and 600Nm. With an upsized 130-litre fuel tank aboard, the Super Duty’s maximum driving range is around 1200-1400km (based on our anecdotal experience of its fuel economy at the Super Duty launch - Ford does not publish fuel consumption numbers for the Super Duty).
Achieving a similar level of endurance with a battery pack would likely eat too far into both the Ranger Super Duty’s payload and GCM, given it would likely need a behemoth battery pack (200kWh plus) to be within reach of the diesel.
The Road Ahead
While some industries have flirted with increasing the mix of electrified vehicles in their fleets – including some mining companies – the idea of even a partially-electrified Ranger Super Duty is next to nil.
Even if the Ranger PHEV’s 2.3-litre turbo petrol-electric hybrid powertrain – which makes more power and torque than the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 at 207kW/697Nm – was slotted into the Super Duty’s engine bay, the question of where to put its 11.8kWh battery pack would be a difficult one to solve given its significant under-body differences and requirements for ground clearance, fording depth, and durability.
Want a ute that’s an eco-warrior? Ford will happily sell you a Ranger PHEV, but the mud-loving Ranger Super Duty will be dirty in more ways than one for the foreseeable.
Related: Ford Ranger Super Duty 2026 Review
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Related: Ford: Ranger Super Duty V6 is up to the task
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