Ford Australia has announced that the F-150 will be joining its line-up in right-hand drive for the first time in almost three decades, ending years of speculation that the nameplate would be returning down under, with the first models hitting showrooms in mid-2023.
Australia’s F-150 supply will be shipped from the US in left-hand drive before going through a right-hand drive remanufacturing program at RMA Automotive Holdings in Melbourne. This is a similar arrangement to the right-hand drive programs for its rivals the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500.
RMA Automotive’s conversions come backed by Ford Australia, with customers getting a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.
“We’ve listened hard to fans and dealers and found a way to bring F-150 to Australia. As the pinnacle of ‘Built Ford Tough’, it will give our customers even more choice when they’re in the market for a pick-up. We just can’t wait to unleash it,” said Andrew Birkic, President and CEO of Ford Australia and New Zealand.
“F-150 has been part of F-Series, America’s best-selling vehicle line for the past 40 years, with more than 40 million F-Series Trucks produced to date. With such a local fan base, and with full-size truck sales in Australia tripling in recent years, we just knew we had to find a way to bring it back to Australia.”
The model will be offered in two trim levels; the XLT and the Lariat. Each comes with a 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 producing 298kW of power and 678Nm of torque. This helps enable a 4.5-tonne towing capacity.
Pricing has yet to be announced, although Birkic stated it would be “priced favourably” relative to its Silverado and Ram 1500 rivals.
Full spec for the XLT and Lariat have yet to be detailed, although Ford Australia has confirmed that both models will feature SYNC 4 and a comprehensive safety suite inclusive of collision assist with autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, lane keep assist, and more.
The XLT is set to come with an 8-inch touchscreen (12-inch upgrade optional), cloth upholstery, and an analogue cluster. Its exterior features 17-inch wheels, body-coloured door handles, and a more reserved grille.
The Lariat adds a more chrome-laden grille, larger chrome wheels and door handles, a 12-inch touchscreen as standard, dual-zone climate control, ambient lighting, rear parking sensors, and more.
Ford Australia has yet to confirm whether the F-150 Lightning or Raptor will also be joining the line-up. Speaking to the media, Birkic said the first priority is establishing the RMA facility’s processes, alluding that more models could join the mix afterwards.
“RMA and Ford Special Vehicles have a lot of work to do in terms of the engineering, setting up the manufacturing facility,” he said.
“Let’s get it here, let’s get it down the line, let’s spend the time on the remanufacture, let’s get it out to our customers. Then we’ll move on to the next step. What we want to do is ensure the process is robust,” he added, noting that Ford has an “open mind” about adding further models to the range.
