Is Ford going to reintroduce the half-tonne ute?

Thursday, 2 August 2018

Ford's recent announcement that it was largely dropping traditional sedans to focus on SUVs and trucks in the USA has led to a number of interesting potentials, but possibly none more so than this interesting little nugget that slipped out recently.

According to a report in US magazine Automobile, Ford is strongly considering a new 'compact' unibody pick up for the US market. That's right, an actual 'ute', as opposed to a ladder chassis truck.

Said to be based on the Focus platform, the new ute would be a new version of the Brazilian Courier, which descended - in name, at least -  from the Ford Courier/Mazda Bounty we used to get here and was a Fiesta-based small ute with an impressive 700kg total payload (including passengers, that is).

The Fiesta-based Courier was replaced by the current one-tonne Ford Ranger pick up, but the popularity of the smaller half-tonne utes in the South American market has given the American manufacturer cause to consider a new unibody vehicle to slot in underneath.

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According to Automobile, sources familiar with Ford's future product plan say the manufacturer is considering it for the US market as well, slotting it below the 'midsize' Ranger that launches there early next year.

Automobile says while a unibody ute would have nothing like the profit margin of an F-Series, or even the upcoming US version of the Ranger, it would, potentially, help Ford regain its lead in the US pick up sales race, and secure those all-important truck bragging rights.

Which leaves open the interesting possibility of RHD production to boost profitability on the smaller ute. After all, RHD markets like South Africa, Australia and, of course, New Zealand share a similar level of love for the ute as the South American market and something smaller than a Ranger, yet still capable of hauling a decent load may well be a viable proposition here.

It is also worth bearing in mind that while the last of the 'proper' car-based utes sold here - the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore - were capable of carrying up to 1,000kg with suspension upgrades, the majority featured payload capabilities of between 500kg and 750kg (depending on model, specification, etc), so a Focus-based ute with a similar payload to that Fiesta-based Brazillian Courier wouldn't be far off that at all.

One possible downside, however, would be the fact that South American ute buyers place far less value on towing and engine capacity than we do, so a Focus-based half-tonner would likely only be powered by the same engines as a Focus hatch. And it would be front-wheel drive.

Still, a small half-tonne car-based ute could fill a handy gap in the local market, particularly as the one-tonners are growing at a remarkable rate. Plus a Focus RS ute would be just awesome…

What do you think? Would you buy a small 'proper' utility? Even a FWD one? Let us know in the comments.