According to Drive Ranger XL and XLS are not selling?

[csv8]

"The waiting times for the top-end versions of the new-generation Ford Ranger such as the XLT, Sport and Wildtrak – especially variants equipped with the optional turbo diesel V6 – stretch from six to 18 months.


But Ford dealers are struggling to get customers to even open the door on the Ford Rangers with the cheap seats, steel wheels and vinyl floors.

Perhaps it's the ugly halogen headlights that are the real turn off, but whatever the reason, the basic Ford Ranger XL and XLS seem to be sale proof.

Which is why Ford is blasting radio ads in all major capital cities – and regional areas – to help clear the decks (and showroom forecourts) of the ugly ducklings of the Ford Ranger family.

All models come with the full suite of advanced safety tech; the standard single-turbo 2.0-litre diesel is perky enough for light-duty use and super-efficient.

So if you're desperate to get into a new Ford Ranger and can live with the dull appearance and duller performance of the halogen headlights – a clear signal to others you're in the cheap seats – you can drive away in a new ute today.'"
https://www.drive.com.au/news/new-ca..._ZOu2I2OfCaAek

[Bossxr8]

Everyone wants the up-spec models. Ford must be loving this, cause they are much more profitable.

They have already adjusted production mix to build more up-spec stuff.

[BENT_8]

I said this months ago, yards are full of bottom end stock .
Surprisingly, buyers want 6 cylinders.

[barra240t]

They are correct in saying every dealer is different, very true. If I can give my point of view and add a little more context:

XL- yes, it has been a little slow in both 4x2 and 4x4 double cab pickup (single and bi turbo) and you will find one if you are chasing, cab chassis is still pretty thin on the ground.
XLS- yes, 4x2 has been a bit slow but 4x4 has not
Ambiente- yes in 4x2, no in 4x4
Trend, yes in 4x2, no in 4x4

[Big_Daz]

Isn't this the same as PX Ranger though? Pretty sure it was also very top heavy with sales with People wanting XLT or higher.... The same was always going to happen with the new one, especially with the V6D only being available in these model's....

I know with my dealer you can walk in and get a XLS or XL off the lot right now. On the same token though, they have also delivered a fair few of them to customers....

[Giant Cranium]

the lower grades need the c clamp headlights asap, the xl and xls are so ugly!

[simon varley]

I have absolutely no idea why the marketing team keep getting the mix for us so wrong. not just Ranger but Everest too now. Ambiente are sitting on the lots not moving.

historically they missed Focus and Fiesta premium series by a long long way too

[barra240t]

Originally Posted by simon varley

I have absolutely no idea why the marketing team keep getting the mix for us so wrong. not just Ranger but Everest too now. Ambiente are sitting on the lots not moving.

historically they missed Focus and Fiesta premium series by a long long way too

Ambiente will pick up, its just going to take time, in my opinion is is a fantastic package. They aren't really sticking, its more awareness of the product and also the consumer thinking they need a V6 when the bi-turbo is very capable.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by simon varley

I have absolutely no idea why the marketing team keep getting the mix for us so wrong. not just Ranger but Everest too now. Ambiente are sitting on the lots not moving.

historically they missed Focus and Fiesta premium series by a long long way too

When I bought my WS Fiesta new, the majority of the market wanted the top spec Zetec model and they brought in a tonne of povvo spec models that were sitting on dealership floors, I just walked into my local dealership and got mine off the lot no dramas.

They've got form misreading the market, it's like the people who do this work take public transport to work and look at their MacBook Air for the whole commute - if you use your eyes when you drive to work you'll see a bazillion upper spec Rangers on the road.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by simon varley

I have absolutely no idea why the marketing team keep getting the mix for us so wrong. not just Ranger but Everest too now. Ambiente are sitting on the lots not moving.

historically they missed Focus and Fiesta premium series by a long long way too

It is odd. P375 had a rich mix, so how the hell did they expect that not to at least continue with 703, if at least not continue to grow richer? Same with undercalling V6.

Baffles me sometimes how these blokes on big bucks who's job it is to predict this stuff can get it so wrong. At least they are changing the production mix now to compensate. Should never have got to that point though.

[Itsme]

If they allowed more options to XL & XLS sales will probably move better for them.

[barra240t]

Originally Posted by Itsme

If they allowed more options to XL & XLS sales will probably move better for them.

To be honest XL is pretty well equipped for a "base' model, a little too much to be honest.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by barra240t

To be honest XL is pretty well equipped for a "base' model, a little too much to be honest.

It is. It really surprised me to see that huge touchscreen and digital dash in even the cheapest base model. I was expecting a tiny little screen and traditional gauges in the cluster.

Look at the competition in this area, they have these tiny little non-touch screens that are probably as big as a post it note. Monotone in some of them too, not even full colour.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

It is. It really surprised me to see that huge touchscreen and digital dash in even the cheapest base model. I was expecting a tiny little screen and traditional gauges in the cluster.

Look at the competition in this area, they have these tiny little non-touch screens that are probably as big as a post it note. Monotone in some of them too, not even full colour.

Is there any reviews of the povvo spec variants? Or even photos, I haven't seen one out on the road yet.

I saw a new Raptor at Highpoint Shopping Centre yesterday in the upstairs car park, whoever it is I reckon works there as there always used to be a modified previous gen Raptor up there as well.

[barra240t]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Is there any reviews of the povvo spec variants? Or even photos, I haven't seen one out on the road yet.

I saw a new Raptor at Highpoint Shopping Centre yesterday in the upstairs car park, whoever it is I reckon works there as there always used to be a modified previous gen Raptor up there as well.

I've seen some pretty decent bulk fleet deals on XL, give it time, they will appear. No reviews as of yet, I can see it getting glowing reviews only let down by the price gap from XL/S to XLT, as it its too close.

[barra240t]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

It is. It really surprised me to see that huge touchscreen and digital dash in even the cheapest base model. I was expecting a tiny little screen and traditional gauges in the cluster.

Look at the competition in this area, they have these tiny little non-touch screens that are probably as big as a post it note. Monotone in some of them too, not even full colour.

Indeed, which makes me think perhaps some content could be removed to reduce the MLP, however, I think its too late, the spec has been revealed and its a little hard to go backwards. The bread and butter single cab 4x2 auto is a good example. Need to go back to basics with a low ride manual single turbo 2.0, maybe ANCAP has something to do with it in a way?

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by barra240t

Indeed, which makes me think perhaps some content could be removed to reduce the MLP, however, I think its too late, the spec has been revealed and its a little hard to go backwards. The bread and butter single cab 4x2 auto is a good example. Need to go back to basics with a low ride manual single turbo 2.0, maybe ANCAP has something to do with it in a way?

Our man DFB had a thread where he wanted a povvo spec single cab 4x2 Ranger for his work vehicle.

To me it seems like Ford Australia doesn't want to have a crack at Toyota, they're happy staying in their lane as the private owner king.

[jpd80]

Put the V6 in XL /XLS and watch ‘em go out the door…

Not so long ago Ford was shaking its head at australian buyers being too capacity centric,
Ford continually underestimates this market, playing safe costs them a ton of sales…
Time to just let her rip and take the cash……

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Put the V6 in XL /XLS and watch ‘em go out the door…

Not so long ago Ford was shaking its head at australian buyers being too capacity centric,
Ford continually underestimates this market, playing safe costs them a ton of sales…
Time to just let her rip and take the cash……

Correct, more options.

[Big_Daz]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Put the V6 in XL /XLS and watch ‘em go out the door…

Not so long ago Ford was shaking its head at australian buyers being too capacity centric,
Ford continually underestimates this market, playing safe costs them a ton of sales…
Time to just let her rip and take the cash……

Probably a silly question, but with Ford already doing all the regulatory stuff to sell the V6D in the XLt and above, I would assume the XL/XLS could be sold with the same drivetrain without any extra work required? Its the same basic car underneath...

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Put the V6 in XL /XLS and watch ‘em go out the door…

Not so long ago Ford was shaking its head at australian buyers being too capacity centric,
Ford continually underestimates this market, playing safe costs them a ton of sales…
Time to just let her rip and take the cash……

Some Australian Buyers do seem Capacity centric

An example a Mate from Queensland said he wouldn't buy a Ranger because they dropped the 3.2..

I told him the new 3L v6 is much more powerful & so is the 2L anyway.

He came back saying the 2L's have been blowing up.. asking for an example the story changed to going into limp mode, I told him that's not blowing up..

There was nothing I could tell him to change his mind

[Vesper Martini]

When I first saw the pricing I was pleasantly surprised, perhaps customers waiting and doing their research thought the same, and optioned up.

I think the base models will start moving once the reputation picks up, and they start picking up Prado Buyers etc

[simon varley]

engineering wouldn't be an issue. it's a marketing thing to drive differentiation. a V6 in an XL would probably be more expensive than a 2.0 in an XLT which wouldn't make sense

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by simon varley

engineering wouldn't be an issue. it's a marketing thing to drive differentiation. a V6 in an XL would probably be more expensive than a 2.0 in an XLT which wouldn't make sense

Probably, but if customers want a workhorse with V6 power and rubber flooring then it doesnt matter how the price compares to a 2.0l XLT as the XLT isnt suitable for the intended purpose.

My biggest gripe with Ford over the past 20yrs has been that they think their the smartest people in the room and dictate to customers what they think the customer wants when reality is their reasoning is often just excuses for not offering choice.

Case in point is Raptor, over the past 4 years we've heard how well represented Raptor has been in the monthly breakdown and we have to take 'insiders' word on that, however, blind Freddy can see that the new Raptor with petrol V6 is killing it and the sheer number on the roads already suggests that the superseded model was nowhere near the sales success that it was purported to be or could have been.

Sure it sold, but we now see that when given a true performance engine people will pay whatever it costs and they fly out the door.
For a petrol V6 in a ute none the less which again we were told until recently that Ford didnt build because Hilux petrol V6 was a flop.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Probably, but if customers want a workhorse with V6 power and rubber flooring then it doesnt matter how the price compares to a 2.0l XLT as the XLT isnt suitable for the intended purpose.

I totally understand why Ford wouldn't want to offer a V6 XL or XLS, as in they want people buying the higher end models.

Thing is, I would happily buy an XLT or Sport...........but then I end up having a vehicle not fit for my purposes, as in a dual cab. So, what ends up happening is people either settle for something impractical or end up getting second best.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by simon varley

engineering wouldn't be an issue. it's a marketing thing to drive differentiation. a V6 in an XL would probably be more expensive than a 2.0 in an XLT which wouldn't make sense

Or, you could make the 2.0 a delete option, I have a feeling that the 2.0 diesel is quickly becoming a wall flower…
If you’re gonna spend that much money on a Ranger, spend a little more and get the V6, pity ford has limited
V6 production to 29,000/year….

[simon varley]

things are changing very rapidly in the Regulations space. Iterations of the Euro 6 standard mean that the bi-turbo is finding it increasingly hard to pass. If we move to Euro 6 here quickly we may find that we can pick up Euro spec cars. It might not be that easy as our cars are currently sourced from Thailand but the Euro market ones are sourced from South Africa, but just because you can't buy the model here today doesn't mean that it will always be the case

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by simon varley

things are changing very rapidly in the Regulations space. Iterations of the Euro 6 standard mean that the bi-turbo is finding it increasingly hard to pass. If we move to Euro 6 here quickly we may find that we can pick up Euro spec cars. It might not be that easy as our cars are currently sourced from Thailand but the Euro market ones are sourced from South Africa, but just because you can't buy the model here today doesn't mean that it will always be the case

Euro market is imposing tougher road tax regs that go beyond Euro 6, that’s what will end diesel in the next few years
Ford knows it’s diesel strategy in Europe is toast, it needs the BEV pretty soon, sooner than it originally planned…

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Still keep those high value sales, but why not take more off Toyota where you could?

Toyota is the king of the 4x2 povvo spec, sure they're lower profit per unit compared to the high value stuff but why leave an opening for Toyota? Take that from them too.

They can't be THAT low profit though, what's it cost to crank out a ladder frame chassis ute with a 5sp manual box with drum brakes on the rear, leaf springs and a 15 year old 4 cylinder engine?

Its not like Toyota would be losing money on every $32K Workmate that leaves the dealership floor.

Because the factory is running at max capacity just trying to meet demand now. And it's still falling short. Just noticed the wait times for Wildtrak V6 has now blown out another couple of months, so the demand keeps exceeding supply. Why bother taking away some of those production slots just to sell cheapies?

It might be a different story if they had excess factory capacity to build more cars, but they don't.

I'm glad you don't own a business.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

It might be a different story if they had excess factory capacity to build more cars, but they don't.

I'm glad you don't own a business.

I'm sure a mega corporation like Ford with it's supposedly billions of dollars in the bank and global manufacturing operations can't find or create capacity to build a couple thousand extra utes to take sales away from a major competitor.

That's just small thinking, but hey I guess that's why Ford is NEVER first to market with anything, sits on their hands for years and let's competitors get a hold in a market before they pull their finger out of their asses.

F150 in Australia? Allowed RAM to corner the market, a Stellantis product? You've got to be out of your mind to buy one of those but if it's the only option I guess customers don't have too much of a choice.

Remember when Ford Australia blocked a commercial deal between Performax International and Ford USA over the F series when they had no intentions of even bringing it to the market? This was well before HSV turned up on the scene in 2014 - now in 2022 they finally get onboard with RMA.

Hell even GM beat them to the punch - that's a bit of a laugh given the absolute clown show that circus is.

Tesla Model Y, but no Mustang EV for Australia?

The way this usually works is your sales team unearths opportunities and then you beg, borrow, steal, jump up and down and whinge to expand capacity to meet demand, you don't turn away opportunities because you're content with what you have.

Sure, I don't own a business but hey I took IVECOs $910,000, HSV's $400,000/year and took a competitors biggest customer and torpedoed their Melbourne operations, all without capacity to take on the work, but suddenly the capacity quickly expanded to meet the demand when the dollars were on the table.

If you could take a thousand 4x2 sales from Toyota, you reckon they can't find capacity to build another 1000 utes between Thailand and South Africa?

Get the sales then make the operations clowns figure it out.

You can tell who has an understanding of sales opportunities and who doesn't, I can tell the difference between what people say can't be done and what can actually can when there's motivation.