2024 Ford Ranger will almost certainly be available at US dealerships by the end of next year, though its whereabouts are no mystery at all.
As Ford Authority previously reported, the next-generation midsize pickup is currently in the first stages of its global rollout, with Australia being one of the first countries to receive the truck.
That said, at least one camouflaged example has been captured with a longer bed in a SuperCrew configuration boasting North American power outlets.
Now, our photographers have captured a similar truck carrying its goods – but this time the pickup in question is being tested in the United States.
If The Blue Oval decides to offer the 2024 Ford Ranger SuperCrew with a long-bed option in the United States, that would be a big deal, as the current model can only be ordered with a six-foot bed in the regular or SuperCab configuration.
In any case, not much is known about the North American version, apart from the fact that it is slated to arrive sometime in 2023. Ford CEO Jim Farley confirmed that timeframe soon after the Ranger Raptor debuted.
As the Ford Authority previously reported, the Michigan Assembly plant is expected to move into manufacturing the next-generation model next spring and is slated to receive a cash infusion for the upgrades necessary for its production.
Before moving on to producing the redesigned truck, the plant will produce a possible cut 2023 model-year pickup, which will represent the final year for the current-generation model.
The 2024 Ford Ranger will be part of an expected eight years for the next-generation pickup.
While powertrain details are unknown, the North American pickup will most likely launch with the same Ford 2.3L I-4 EcoBoost as the current model, with the Ford 3.0L V6 EcoBoost standard on the Ranger Raptor.
The Sync 4 will likely be the standard infotainment setup, as the global variant features the technology, albeit with two different screen sizes, depending on the model.
In addition, the next-generation model is expected to have DIY-friendly features.
2024 Ford Ranger Review
While the F-150 goes all-electric with the Ford F-150 Lightning, Ford’s next step in the electrification process for the Ford Ranger is a hybrid, which could also go on sale within two years. Shortly after, the lineup will include an electric Ford Ranger to round out the options.
The Ranger Hybrid will go to markets around the world where emission norms are tightened, or a new EV charging infrastructure is born. Take a look at what lies ahead for Ford’s mid-size pickup truck.
Unveiled in late 2021, the new-generation Ford Ranger looks just as impressive as the new F-150. It features large matrix LED headlights with ‘C-clamp’ daytime running lights, much like its American cousin.
The taller and wider radiator grille emphasizes the width of the pickup and adds aggression. Like the F-150, the radiator grille has a two-bar section in the middle, cutting into the headlights.
However, the Australian-designed one-ton ute doesn’t have an active grille cover like the all-American full-size pickup. This all-new model features a power bump on the hood for an impressive look.
The side profile is similar to the current Ranger but not identical. The sophisticated concave surfaces of the door panels and smooth shoulder lines on the sides bring out the freshness of the truck design.
Moving to the rear, like the headlights, the taillights are available in a choice of halogen and LED units, and feature distinctive graphics on the front. Thousands of Ranger owners around the world influenced the design of the next-generation Ranger.
Ford has engineered the Ford Ranger T6.2 (the T6 is Ford’s all-wheel drive and rear architecture that underpins midsize pickups and SUVs) at the Melbourne-based Asia Pacific product development hub, but it’s not a regional model.
One of the best-selling pickup trucks in the world, the Ranger has built a strong reputation in the APAC and African markets. Ford sells Ranger in more than 180 countries.
Read next: 2024 Ford Edge: The Next-Gen Edge Midsize SUV Discontinued
2024 Ford Ranger Design
Ford may have started the groundwork for the Ranger EV, but it will likely take about two years before the company shows the prototype to the media.
Meanwhile, we’ve presented our imaginations of the electric Ranger in an exclusive rendering (below).
Inspired by the 14th-gen F-150 Lightning, we envisioned a Ford Ranger Electric with a slightly high-tech look on the front. The C-shaped LED DRL is linked to an F-150 Lightning-style light strip above the top grille.
The closed radiator grille supports reduced drag and increased efficiency, as well as the specially designed bumper.
A charging port above the front wheel arch and alloy wheels featuring a special aerodynamic design complete the look.
2024 Ford Ranger Hybrid
On February 2, 2022, Drive published a news report stating that Ford was developing the Ranger PHEV and Everest PHEV, to be launched in Australia as the MY2024 model.
The new plug-in hybrid could land in Australian showrooms as late as 2023, Drive says.
Lars Krause, BoM responsible for marketing at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWN), has indirectly confirmed a plug-in hybrid system for the Ranger is in development.
“We are not satisfied with the electric range of the plug-in hybrid (Ranger),” Krause told the media during the April 2022 presentation of the next-generation Amarok, according to a Drive report dated April 26, 2022.
As a right-handed country and a huge market for the Ranger and Everest nameplates, Australia could be one of the first countries to sell Ford’s new PHEV.
Ford and most other leading automakers typically launch PHEVs and BEVs first in European countries, the US, or China, but this could be an exception.
Ali Jammoul, Ford program director for Ford icons and Performance, told Wheels on April 7, 2022, that electrification will play a major role in the next-generation Ranger.
Jammal says every vehicle has a compromise; The powered Ranger will be heavier because of the battery. He added that using lighter materials elsewhere could offset the battery weight penalty.
Read next: 2024 Ford Raptor: Next-Generation Ford Raptor Truck Review
2024 Ford Ranger Pro Power Onboard
A spy image (CarExpert) of an LHD Ranger prototype spotted in Australia suggests that Ford could offer the Ranger with its Pro Power Onboard generator.
The prototype looks longer than a regular Ranger double cab, maybe 2 inches long, and has a 12V socket and a 400V inverter generator with US-style power plugs. This could be our first look at the Ranger Hybrid.
On the F-150 PowerBoost, Pro Power Onboard lets customers use their pickups as mobile generators. With a full gas tank, the traction battery pack can externally supply 7.2 kW of power for 32 hours.
A 2.4 kW version is also available, which can run at maximum output for 85 hours for the same amount of gas. Drivers can monitor external power usage via the vehicle’s central display or the FordPass mobile app.
2024 Ford Ranger Futures
During an Australian media roundtable in 2021, an engineer behind the development of the new Ranger confirmed that the upgraded platform enables electrification.
The newly redesigned chassis has helped “future proof” the Ford Ranger to other propulsion technologies.
The new Ford Ranger chief engineer, Ian Foston, also spoke to Drive during the media briefing. He said that they had put together two big driving factors for electrification.
The first was interest from customers who had used EVs before and asked about the technology in Ford’s pickup trucks. Second, new laws have been proposed for several markets that require them.
Last year, Hans Schep, General Manager, Commercial Vehicles, Ford (Europe), discussed the rechargeable Ranger.
He said that the company plans to release the Ranger plug-in hybrid before 2025, as per an Automotive News Europe report published in June 2021.
Ford Ranger 2.3L PHEV
The powertrain in question is likely a 2.3-liter turbocharged EcoBoost unit with a 10-speed automatic transmission that combines with an electric motor to produce 270 kW (362 hp) and 502 lb.-ft (680 Nm) of torque.
This is an all-new Plug-in Hybrid system not yet shown on Ford vehicles and will be very different from the 3.0-liter and 2.5-liter PHEV systems on the Explorer and Escape SUVs.
Jammoul told Wheels that the brand can electrify the 2.3-liter, 2.7-liter, and 3-liter gas engines in its portfolio.
He added that Ford is currently evaluating which option is the best fit, given the electric Ranger’s goal of being fuel-efficient and powerful enough. The 2.3 liter EcoBoost unit is probably the best fit.
Read next: 2024 Ford F350: New Ford F350 Super Duty Prototype Review
Ranger ICE models will run alongside BEV & Hybrid
James Farley Jr., Ford President & CEO, told The Verge Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel on the Decoder podcast in 2021 that Ford is a leader in markets like South Africa, Australia, and Europe with the Ranger.
Ranger customers in some regions travel 700-800 miles. Technology (and the charging infrastructure in this society) will need to evolve to deliver the extended range of EVs without compromising the affordability, capability, or usability of the Ford Ranger.
Therefore, the combustion model will continue alongside the electrified Ranger in the future.
New Ford Ranger Interior
The interior design of the Ford Ranger T6.2 has become contemporary and more car-like. The dashboard still has that familiar truck-like look, but the air conditioning vents, steering wheel, and center console have been streamlined.
Minimized switchgear and other physical controls, a 12-inch SYNC 4 portrait touchscreen infotainment, and a fully digital instrument cluster give the interior a cleaner, more sophisticated style.
Ford says the 2022 Ranger is the smartest Ranger ever, and with SYNC 4 available, we’re not going to dispute that statement.
Remote Start, Vehicle Status, and remote lock and unlock functions are available in the mobile app, and the Ford Power-Up wireless software update will allow for an expansion of the feature list of conveniently connected vehicles in the future.
Tech highlights include a 360-degree camera and a Qi wireless phone charger.
Ford has engineered the Ford Ranger T6.2 (the T6 is Ford’s all-wheel drive and rear architecture that underpins midsize pickups and SUVs) at the Melbourne-based Asia Pacific product development hub, but it’s not a regional model.
One of the best-selling pickup trucks in the world, the Ranger has built a strong reputation in the APAC and African markets. Ford sells Ranger in more than 180 countries.
Ford EV sales soar in the United States
In 2021, Ranger sales this year (January-December 2021) in the US fell by 6.6%. Compared to 101,486 units sold in 2020, Ford only managed to sell 94,755 units in 2021.
Between January and May 2022, cumulative sales fell 44% year-on-year to 28,732 units (January-May 2021: 51,270 units).
In May 2022 alone, Ford sold 5,983 Rangers in America, and that marks a sharp 58.2% decline from May 2021 (14,303 units).
On the other hand, EVs continue to peak in the U.S. In May 2022, Ford sold 6,254 electric vehicles in the country, recording a 222% year-over-year growth.
Read next: 2024 Ford Escape: New Generation Escape SUV Review
2024 Ford Ranger Release Date
Global
This year, Ford will start producing the new Ranger at factories in Asia and South Africa.
The company plans to start taking orders in Europe in late 2022 and delivering to customers in early 2023. Australia, South Africa, and some core Ranger markets and a tonne of them will get the new Ranger in a few months.
During Ford’s Q1 2022 earnings conference call on April 27, 2022, John Lawler, chief financial officer, provided a brief update on the launch of the new Ranger. Lawler said the launch was on track.
He was referring to a launch at the International Markets Group (IMG) business unit, and thus not a US arrival.
IMG comprises approximately 100 developed and emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East, and elsewhere.
U.S
Ranger6G.com received inside information about the production and release dates of the new generation Ranger.
The global model is internally called the Ford P703 and will go on sale in Asia first and then in Australia in May 2022.
The internal code for the US model is Ford P703N, with the letter ‘N’ likely indicating North America. It will arrive as the 2023 Ford Ranger.
Production of the Ranger P703N will begin at the Michigan Assembly Plant on May 1, 2023, and the launch is scheduled for July 3, 2023.
Ranger6G.com also claims to have seen the EOP (End Of Production) date of the US specification Ranger next-generation – April 2031.
The current Ford Ranger lineup in the United States starts at $25,980, so prices are expected to remain roughly the same when the T6.2 goes on sale.
However, where the previous Ranger Raptor – a sportier variant of the pickup truck – was not available in North America, reports suggest that the new Ranger Raptor, introduced on February 22, 2022, will arrive in the US.
