New Ford Ranger Raptor ‘later than expected’

Ford Australia has confirmed first customer deliveries of the all-new 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor and Everest will take place later than expected from September 19 and that waiting times for new orders continue to hover around eight or nine months.

Previously, it said the new Raptor and Everest would arrive in August, but Ford Australia chief Andrew Birkic this week confirmed reports of a further delay due to parts shortages.

Asked why both models were still over two weeks away from customer hands, he said: “Because that’s when they’re going to get there.

“What we need is a good supply of parts in particular. If something happens and someone’s in an unfortunate collision, we don’t want their car off the road.”

Earlier this week, an internal communication shared with Ford dealers said: “A small number of Next-Gen Raptor vehicles have arrived in Australia; however, these units will be held until accessories and parts supply reach optimal levels.”

“We anticipate shipping will commence from week commencing September 19.”

The Ford communication with its dealers outlined a similar delay with the new Ford Everest.

The release of Ford’s new-generation ute and SUV models has been hit by the same supply chain issues affecting the entire global auto industry this year, delaying the Australian launch of the new Ranger by a month to July, while a number of V6 Ranger vehicles were grounded to fix an isolated tailshaft vibration problem.

Unprecedented demand and COVID lockdown-related component shortages have also combined to create a huge backlog of orders and waiting times for the new Ranger, Raptor and Everest.

Ford Australia said in June that it had received more than 19,000 orders across all three Australian-developed models, including more than 4000 Raptor orders, and we understand it’s also holding about 5000 Everest orders.

Ford Australia’s public website now regularly updates the wait times for specific variants of all three models. While stocks of the four-cylinder Everest Ambiente and Trend and the rest of the Ranger line-up are available for immediate delivery, buyers of the V6-powered Ranger Raptor and Wildtrak and Everest Sport and Platinum face extensive wait times well into 2023, as follows:

Ranger Sport V6 – January
Ranger Wildrak V6 – May
Ranger Raptor – June
Everest Sport V6 – May
Everest Platinum – May

Similar and even longer waiting times are also being faced by buyers of certain Toyota HiLux, Isuzu D-MAX and Mazda BT-50 variants.

But there are even longer wait times for those ordering a Ranger Wildtrak with the Premium Pack including Matrix LED headlights, for which Ford had initially forecast a take-up rate of 20 per cent.

Demand has exceeded that figure four-fold and some dealers are now telling customers they will wait more than 12 months until the fourth quarter of 2023 for delivery, and Ford now says customers can fast-track their delivery if they untick that option box.

However, we understand Ford may make the Ranger Wildtrak’s premium pack standard – as it effectively already is on the Everest Platinum flagship, for about an extra $6000 – for an extra $2000 from February 2023 production.

“Interest in the Next-Gen Ranger Wildtrak V6 has been extremely positive and we are now taking orders for 2023 vehicle arrivals,” says Ford on its public website.

“If you place an order today, your vehicle may not arrive until approximately May 2023 and its pricing and/or specifications may be different. Your Ford Dealer will be able to confirm the model year available for purchase and the pricing and specifications applicable to that vehicle prior to signing a contract.

“We have also seen very strong demand for the optional Premium Pack on the Next-Gen Ranger Wildtrak, which will take some time to work through. If customers choose to remove the Premium Pack from their order, they will be able to take delivery of their Ranger sooner.”

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But the local Ford chief said a broader spread of models including the new near-$80K Platinum flagship, and the imminent announcement of what’s expected to be a fleet-friendly five-star ANCAP safety rating, would attract more private buyers as well as fleets.

“We haven’t released ANCAP yet, so fleet and governments will come into the market when they see the vehicle and drive the vehicle, so we think there’s upside there with user-choosers in the fleet market.

“So we think what we’ve got now is a really strong play and what we want to do is bring new people to the brand and that’s super-exciting for us.

“But we’re ambitious. We think we’ve got a really strong product. We’ve already got a good order bank and we know there’s upside for us."