Ford will launch an affordable midsize pickup for international markets next year, aimed at the Chinese brands gaining share in Latin America and Southeast Asia, with base material costs 20% lower than its Ranger, Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley told analysts.
“Next year, we will be launching our affordable midsize pickup for international markets,” Farley said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call. “We expect the base material costs for this truck to be 20% lower than today’s Ranger.”
He said the truck is designed to bring new customers into Ford’s lineup outside the US, as the Maverick compact pickup has done at home, “at a cost structure that allows us to compete, in this case with the Chinese.”
Ford did not disclose the truck’s name, price, powertrain, production site or which countries will get it.
Where Ford Feels the Pressure
Farley returned to the truck when Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco asked how rising Chinese exports would affect Ford globally.
“Frankly, we’ve held up really well internationally as the Chinese gain more and more share in open and closed markets,” Farley said. “Where we see the competition of the most intense is LATAM and Southeast Asia, where we have a large Ranger business.”
“In both cases, Ranger is still doing very well because it competes at a much higher price point,” he said. “And as I said, we’re going to be going into their price point next year with this new affordable truck. So we’ll see how that plays out, but we’re confident.”
Chinese carmakers have been pushing pickups into those markets.
BYD sells its Shark plug-in hybrid pickup in markets including Latin America and Australia, and Great Wall Motor sells its Cannon. Leapmotor said in September it was weighing a pickup with Brazil and Australia in mind.
Farley has been dismissive of the trucks’ capability. He called the Chinese pickups “different animals” after driving the Shark and a Great Wall Cannon in Australia earlier this year, according to an interview with Drive.
Ranger’s Place in the Lineup
The Ranger is Ford’s main truck outside North America. “Internationally, Ranger leads in many markets, including Australia and Europe,” Farley said on the call. He said the heavier-duty Ranger Super Duty was the top seller in its segment in Australia in its first year.
The new truck sits below it in price. Laying out Ford’s 2027 plans, Farley said Ford Pro, the commercial vehicle unit, will expand “their global lineup for Transit and Ranger with all new price points” next year, as part of a broader refresh in which Ford expects to have renewed 70% of its global portfolio by volume.
Farley tied the plan to Ford’s approach in the US, where the Maverick, a hybrid compact pickup, opened the brand to buyers who could not afford larger trucks. “Maverick is America’s best-selling hybrid pickup,” he said.
Maverick Hybrid sales rose 59.6% to a record 27,800 in the third quarter, and reached a record 74,300 through September, Ford said. Combined sales of the Maverick, Ranger and Bronco Sport rose 9.5% to 112,600 in the first nine months.
Ranger’s Turf Under Pressure
The Ranger is sold in more than 180 markets and built at five plants in Thailand, South Africa, the US and Argentina, Ford said in 2023.
Australia shows both its strength and the Chinese push. The Ranger was the country’s best-selling new vehicle in September, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, with 5,062 sales.
Through September, Australians bought 35,744 four-wheel-drive Rangers. BYD’s Shark 6 plug-in hybrid sold 13,586, or about 38% of that, and Great Wall’s Cannon sold 8,001, according to official VFACTS data compiled by Truck Advice.
Farley has cast the Ranger as Ford’s test against Chinese trucks. “The most important proof point for that is going to be Ranger globally,” he told The Detroit News in January, speaking about Ford’s quality push at the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.
“Taking on the Chinese, Great Wall, other body on frame vehicles . . . quality is going to be a differentiator for us,” he said. “Here in Saudi, 15% of sales are Chinese, so now we have to compete with them.”
Learning From China
Ford is also using China as a base to compete. “I think Ford is the #1 traditional OEM exporting from China,” Farley said, adding that the Territory SUV, built there, is Ford’s second most profitable vehicle globally.
“We have learned so much exporting from China. It’s been really a very successful exercise for Ford with very low capital,” he said. “We’ve learned a lot about China cost as well as China cost in places where it needs to be localized, like Thailand, in Europe over time.”
In September, he said it was “too late” for Europe to hold back Chinese carmakers.
Ru the call , dv cslt Europe, not developing markets, is where Chinese competition hurts Ford most in the short term, along with the European Union’s EV mandates and zrplzrsi zonnnejoalhj. Ford is relying on partnerships with Renault and Geely to cut costs in its European car lineup.
An Affordable Push at Home Too
The international truck is one of two lower-priced pickups Ford has planned for 2027. In the US, its Louisville plant in Kentucky is preparing to build the Fathom, a midsize electric pickup and the first vehicle on its new Universal EV Platform, which Ford priced at $28,350.
“The launch remains on track for fourth quarter next year,” Farley said, adding that the MSRP “under $30,000 and the low cost of ownership is perfect for today’s market.”
Ford raised the bottom of its full-year adjusted earnings before interest and taxes forecast to $10.5 billion to $11 billion on Wednesday. Third-quarter revenue fell 2% to $49.5 billion and adjusted EBIT rose 3% to $2.7 billion.
Its Model e electric unit lost $1.06 billion in the quarter, narrower than a year earlier. Ford Pro’s EBIT fell 16% to $1.7 billion on higher commodity costs and launch costs for the Super Duty in Oakville, Ontario.
Farley has framed Ford’s competition in other terms too. In July, he said Ford was targeting rivals that build in Japan and South Korea.
