Ford has officially announced that it will start to sell the mid-sized Ranger model in China during the next year. The aim of this move is to expand their pickup truck lineup in that country because according to some research, people’s interest in this type of vehicles has been growing.
Mark Fields, Ford’s president, and CEO declared: “We’re very excited to bring Built Ford Tough, one of the world’s best-loved and most successful brands, to customers in the world’s largest auto market. We see a significant white-space opportunity with Chinese buyers increasingly looking for more capable, more refined and more stylish pickups.”
Even though the Chinese truck segment is still small as pickups account for less than two percent of the sales, China is the fourth largest truck market in the entire world with an increase of 14 percent last year. Note that the Ford Ranger is the number one on the sales list when it comes to midsize models in Europe, New Zealand and South Africa and number two on the world stage with the exclusion of North America. This is why Blue Oval company is confident that moving the Ranger to China is a good decision.
The Ford Ranger will join the F-150 Raptor in China. Speaking of the Raptor, its local pricing details will be announced officially at a special event on April 8, in Shanghai. Peter Fleet, Ford Asia Pacific vice president of Marketing, Sales and Service stated: “The F-150 Raptor has created a lot of buzz among Chinese customers since it was revealed for the first time last year and we are extremely excited to have it arriving in our showrooms in China, ready to be delivered to customers.”
