Wait times for the best-selling Ford Ranger are expected to be reduced after the brand announced it has opened a dedicated facility for installing factory-fitted accessories in Thailand.
Dubbed the Ford Vehicle Personalisation Centre (VPC), the Thai facility will fit certain cost-option accessories to the Ranger before it’s shipped to Australia – effectively cutting time spent by dealers fitting the features before deliveries to customers.
The four options include a manual roller shutter ($3000), a lift-and-slide canopy ($4500), a dual-lift canopy ($4700) and a commercial canopy ($4700).
The first Ford Ranger examples which will be equipped with the factory-fitted accessories are due to go into production from March 2024, with Australian arrivals expected to begin from May 2024.
A full breakdown of the MY24.5 range, as Ford calls it, can be viewed in our price and specs article.
Ford’s Thailand-based engineering partner RMA Automotive will help run the facility, which operates separately from its Australian business of performing right-hand-drive conversions for the F-150 pickup.
The accessories will continue to be covered by the Ford Ranger’s five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.
Last week Ford announced a number of changes to the 2024 Ranger, including the previously optional Touring and Tech packs becoming standard-fit for the XLS, as well as its new Pro Trailer Backup Assist system on the Wildtrak, Platinum and Raptor.
The Ford Raptor was the best-selling vehicle in Australia last year, ending the Toyota HiLux’s seven-year winning streak and giving Ford its first annual win since 1995 with the EF Falcon.
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