We haven’t heard much about the Ford Ranger lately, but according to the latest reports, Ford is still planning on ending production of the US-built Ranger next year. The Ranger was the second best selling compact pickup selling over 55k units, while the Tacoma sold 111,824 last year.
Even though the Ranger sold 55,600 units last year, Ford is still moving forward with the Ranger’s death and the larger F-150 could be its replacement as Ford plans more fuel-efficient powertrains for the F-150.
“Today, a lot of customers who buy Rangers are the people who use it as a commuter vehicle,” Derek Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president of product development, told PickupTrucks.com last week at the North American International Auto Show. “But with the new Ford Fiesta and Focus coming into the lineup, those kinds of customers will have other alternatives to the Ranger.”
“We’re going to continue to make the F-Series significantly more fuel efficient while still providing the level of capability that the F-150 provides today,” Kuzak said. “There will be no compromise for better fuel efficiency. The vast majority of Ranger buyers are not using the full capability of the truck. We have to compare those customers choosing a very affordable and fuel-efficient F-150.”
The F-150 is expected to get Ford’s new 3.5-liter V-6 EcoBoost, which is supposed to be as powerful as a V8 with the efficiency of a V6 engine. The 3.7L V6 from the Mustang and Lincoln MKX is also expected to be offered. A four-cylinder EcoBoost is also reportedly in the works for the F-150.
Although the Ranger is slated to be discontinued next year, there is still a chance that the new global Ranger, code-named T6, could be offered here.
“It’s no secret we have a new Ranger coming globally. We’re working on one for all the other markets in the world,” Kuzak said. “The difference is that all of those other markets only have a Ranger. They don’t have an F-150 above it.
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