A Ranger PHEV became the 1000th Ford prototype vehicle to roll out of the New Model Programs facility (NMP), formerly known as Plant 2, located in Campbellfield, Melbourne.
The NMP facility is near the International Markets Group (IMG) product development and design centre. It continues to build on Ford Australia’s history of local assembly and manufacturing.
The NMP team builds 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 in local vehicle development, putting Australian skills and workers on a global stage,” Ford Australia NMP plant manager Vince Ciocca says.
The Ford Ranger PHEV program marks the first time NMP has produced an electrified prototype and has required the team to undergo upskilling and EV certification to complete the task of hand-building the engineering vehicles.
The internal combustion engine Ford Ranger is engineered and designed by Ford Australia. This expertise has played a crucial role in Ford Australia’s ability to deliver vehicles such as the Ranger PHEV.
The history of NMP
NMP was initially set up in the 1970s as a truck plant called Plant 2 and produced Broncos and F-Series for emergency services. In the 1980s, Ford introduced 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 in 1989 and on the AU Falcon.
In the years after manufacturing closure, Ford recognised the need for an efficient solution for prototype building, so Plant 2 was transformed, a warehouse and complementary facilities were added, and a team was set up to build Ranger prototypes.
Most of this team – and those who work in the facility today – have many years of experience from the facility’s ‘Plant 2’ days, ensuring the right mix of skills and know-how.
More recently, NMP collaborated with Herrod Performance to produce all 500 examples of the Australian-exclusive supercharged Ford Mustang R-Spec. Other significant vehicles to roll out of NMP include the initial prototypes for the current Ranger and Everest. At the same time, the facility pivoted during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic to produce face shields during the PPE shortage.
Ford Australia’s product development team members, along with their global counterparts, have been conducting engineering tests for the Ranger PHEV since last year, using prototypes built at NMP.
More details of the Ranger PHEV will be announced at 5.40 pm AEST on Monday, 16 September, at the IAA Transportation show in Hanover, Germany.
