How Ford took on Toyota and won: Why the Ranger 'gamble' hit the jackpot

Ford took a big risk going into 2023, pushing all its metaphorical chips into the centre of the table and betting it all on one roll of the dice.

The good news for the Blue Oval brand is that gamble paid off. Ford was the big winner of the 2023 sales race, with its Ranger ute claiming top spot on the charts. Obviously that meant it beat its arch-rivals, the Toyota HiLux too, to add even more sweetness to its success.

Ford sold 63,356 Rangers in 2023, only 3272 fewer sales than it managed across its entire range in 2022. Ford Australia management has put the entire brand's hopes in the tray of the Ranger, effectively having it fill the role the Falcon once did.

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But this success was never a foregone conclusion and was (and arguably remains) a high-risk strategy. Ford is so dependent on a steady supply of Ranger (and Everest) that it entered the shipping business in 2023 and took a lease on a cargo ship to ensure it wasn't relying on outside suppliers for its must-have models.

Despite this, it's still an impressive effort from the company, not only taking on and beating the HiLux in a straight fight, but also doing so with a very rich model mix, with the higher-grade Rangers the preference with customers.

Ford was the big winner of the 2023 sales race, with its Ranger ute claiming top spot on the charts.

Ultimately though, Ford still needs to diversify to take some of the pressure off the Ranger, which made up more than 72 per cent of its total sales in 2023. On the plus side the Everest was up 46 per cent and the Transit Custom van was a hit, growing more than 66 per cent on its '22 sales.

The problem is, while the Escape SUV enjoyed a modest 7.2 per cent sales boost last year, it came too late, after local management decided to drop it entirely from the line-up. Its other small SUV, the Puma, suffered a nearly 16 per cent sales decline in '23 on what were already modest numbers.

Ford sold 63,356 Rangers in 2023, only 3272 fewer sales than it managed across its entire range in 2022.

When we looked at Ford's chances at the start of 2023 we were looking at the expected arrival of the new-generation Mustang to provide a lift, but unfortunately the new model didn't make it in time. So the nearly 22 per cent sales decline of the outgoing model isn't a surprise, but it does add to Ford Australia's problems of struggling to sell anything beyond its light-commercial vehicles; nearly 93 per cent of Ford's '23 sales were commercial vehicles and the Everest spin-off.

The good news for Ford is that help already arrived at the end of '23 and more is coming in '24. One major bonus for the local operation was the somewhat-sudden arrival of the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV. At the start of last year, Ford hadn't even confirmed if the Mustang Mach-E would be offered locally but it was in showrooms by the middle of the year.

When we looked at Ford’s chances at the start of 2023 we were looking at the expected arrival of the new-generation Mustang to provide a lift.

Ford only managed to find 51 buyers in the remainder of the year, but that just leaves more room for growth this year. Even if the so-called 'legacy' brands are struggling with electric vehicle sales, compared to Tesla and BYD, the arrival of the Mach-E was an important moment for Ford to showcase its potential future.

More importantly in '24 will be the arrival of the 'proper' Mustang, with the seventh-generation coupe and convertible due to hit showrooms. While it may be a relatively low-volume sports car on the surface, the Mustang actually has enormous potential for Ford. Not only has it been the best-selling sports car in Australia it has also contributed significant volume to the company, often finishing not only as its best-selling passenger car, but also Ford Australia's second best-selling model behind the Ranger. It peaked in 2017 when Ford moved more than 9000 'Stangs, a figure that we're sure local management would love to repeat with this new-generation model in 2024.

Ultimately though, Ford still needs to diversify to take some of the pressure off the Ranger.

There are clearly still questions around the brand's small SUV strategy in the wake of the Escape's axing and the Puma's struggles, but the continued success of the Ranger should keep Blue Oval management and fans happy for now.