Ford Ranger PHEV prototype 1000 road ready

ANTICIPATION has been running high for Ford’s Ranger PHEV, but the model is still a while away as production out of Ford’s South African plant is scheduled to start at the end of the year with potential first deliveries early in 2025.

Local development of the model has been happening at the Australian New Model Program Facility (NMP) formerly Plant 2 at Ford Australia’s Campbellfield, Melbourne manufacturing site.

This week marks a historic milestone for the NMP as its 1000th prototype, a Ranger PHEV, rolled off the line.

The prototype process starts when Ford assigns the NMP team to work on projects that require bespoke (custom) craftsmanship and agile manufacturing processes – such as building engineering prototypes and ‘mules’ that support Ford’s global vehicle launches.

“It’s fitting that the Ranger PHEV is the 1000th prototype for NMP and shows how Ford remains at the cutting edge of local vehicle development and is putting Australian skills and workers on a global stage,” said Ford Australia NMP plant manager Vince Ciocca.

The Ranger PHEV program is the first electrified prototype NMP has produced requiring the team to undergo upskilling and EV certification to complete the complex task of hand-building “engineering” vehicles.

The NMP facility is located near the IMG Product Development Centre and Design Centre, dedicated to building on Ford Australia’s history of local assembly and manufacturing.

It was originally set up in the 1970s as a truck plant called Plant 2 to produce Ford Broncos and F-Series for emergency services, the facility evolving in the 1980s to include Ford utes and vans and in a first for an Australian manufacturing plant, started using robots.

This was followed by work on components of the Ford Capri sports convertible in 1989 and then on the AU-series Falcon.

In the years after the closure of local manufacturing, Ford sagely recognised the need for an efficient solution to building prototypes resulting in Plant 2 being repurposed with a warehouse and complementary facilities added… and a team set up to build Ranger prototypes the majority of whom have many years of experience from the facility’s Plant 2 days that Ford Australia says ensures the right mix of skills and know-how.

NMP recently collaborated with Herrod Performance to produce all 500 examples of the Australian-exclusive supercharged Ford Mustang R-Spec with other significant vehicles to roll out of NMP including the initial prototypes for the current Ranger and Everest.

Ford Australia says its product development team members, along with their global counterparts, have been conducting engineering tests for the electrified model since last year using prototypes built at NMP.

This is underpinned by Ranger’s internal combustion engine that is engineered and designed by Ford Australia and sold in over 180 countries globally. This expertise has played a key role in Ford Australia’s ability to deliver innovative vehicles like Ranger PHEV. 

As reported late last year in GoAuto, the Ranger PHEV will be one of only a few electrified one tonne utes to be available in Australia though more (along with fully electrified models) are slated for arrival down the track.

The new Ranger PHEV will provide customers with both rechargeable electric and petrol hybrid driving capabilities.

It will put Ford ahead of competitor Toyota’s mild-hybrid HiLux which cannot be plugged in for a battery top up or move much on electricity alone. Mitsubishi also has a petrol-electric hybrid Triton in the pipeline, due here also in 2025.

As is the case with all PHEVs, the plug-in Ranger is designed to offer the “best of both worlds” for customers with an expected electric-only driving range of 45km as well as the ability to drive using both its petrol engine and electric motor together.

The newcomer will maintain the Ranger's 3500kg (braked) towing capacity while also introduce new technologies like ‘Pro Power Onboard’, which behaves like an on-board generator, as well as different electric driving modes.

Combustion power comes from a version of Ford’s turbocharged 2.3-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder found in the Mustang and other Ford models as well as the co-developed Volkswagen Amarok.

An electric motor “piggy backs” the combustion engine for improved power and torque and gives a claimed 45km of electric only-range when the EV Now mode is selected.

The system allows Ranger PHEV to be driven purely on electricity for short trips or use both power sources for extended journeys and heavy loads.

The plug-in hybrid system was chosen over other electrified options like a regular hybrid or battery electric due to its ability to meet customer needs for towing heavy loads, travelling long distances and venturing off-road without relying on charging infrastructure.

The Ranger PHEV will likely be premium-priced, potentially alongside the Ranger Raptor meaning buyers may be able to opt for a high-powered sporty Ford ute or a fuel miser with zero local emissions potentially for similar money.