Ford Australia is officially converting F-150s to right-hand drive

Wednesday, 30 March 2022

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Ford Australia has confirmed it will be converting F-150s to right-hand drive under a factory-backed local remanufacturing scheme.

The news was announced last night and will see the F-150 officially sold to take on the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado, both of which are converted by the Walkinshaw Group.

It won’t be ready for a little while, as Ford told Aussie media it has a development vehicle on the road ahead of a mid-2023 launch.

The Ford F-150 will be officially sold in right-hand drive in Australia come 2023.

“Whenever I speak to our dealers, they tell me that customers consistently ask about F-150. [They] ask when it is coming, so I am very proud to now be able to say it’s heading our way,” said Ford Australia chief Andrew Birkic in an interview with carsales.

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If the programme is a success, Ford could look to converting other North American-only vehicles, like the new Bronco.

“There are just so many passionate F-150 fans out there, and we’re all thrilled to be able to bring this iconic truck to our roads.”

To start with, the Australian-market F-150 will launch in Crew Cab configuration in XLT and Lariat trims. It won’t come with a V8 either, instead employing a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V6 producing 298kW and 678Nm. It might not have the same growl as a big eight but, to be honest, the Ram and Silverado trucks aren’t shouty at all, so you probably won’t really miss it. Plus, with petrol prices the way they are…

Ford Australia is pairing the engine with a ten-speed automatic, and says it will pull up to 4500kg braked.

Not coming (for the moment) are the 5.0-litre V8 (298kW/556Nm), 3.0-litre V6 220kW/359Nm), 2.7-litre twin-turbo V6 (242kW/542Nm), 3.5-litre V6 hybrid (321kW/773Nm), 3.0-litre V6 diesel (186kW/596Nm). Ford hasn’t given word on if the V8-powered F-150 Raptor R or the fully electric F-150 Lightning will be coming.

“When we began looking at F-150 for an Australian return, there was one engine that stood out for us – the 3.5-litre EcoBoost, which gives F-150 immense power and torque, more than many of its V8 competitors,” said Ford Australia’s global trucks enterprise product line manager Natalie Manariti.

The move to officially convert F-150s also opens the door to other possible conversions, like the Bronco SUV or Maverick small ute.

While the priority remains the F-150, Birkic told carsales that the potential for other North American models coming to Australia is there.

“Does it give us some opportunities down the track? Yes, but again, our focus needs to be on F-150,” he said.

“There’s a lot of work that goes in behind whether we bring a vehicle into Australia. Can we get the supply? Is it commercially viable? Is there a market for it?

“We would need to do all that due diligence, and that would be part of our decision-making process.”

Unfortunately, it seems the Aussies get to have all the fun for the moment. Stuff contacted Ford New Zealand to see if we can jump on the conversion train, but was told that the Australian F-150 is currently “not confirmed for New Zealand.”

“We are looking into options for NZ and how we could make the F-150 available for those customers.”