Ford offering $8000 incentives on new models: Ford Ranger buyers to get $3000 gift card and F-150 buyers can score up to $8000 in signs of slowing ute market

Ford is looking to move some serious metal and is putting its money where its mouth is.

The Blue Oval is offering cold hard cash — in the form of Mastercard gift cards — as incentives to buyers of Ranger, F-150, Transit, Transit Custom and Mach-E.

Buyers can get between $2000 and $8000 gift cards, depending on model and variant.

Ford is trying to shift 2023 model year versions of its F-150, with top of the range Lariat long wheelbase (LWB) versions getting the maximum $8000 on offer.

Lariat short wheelbase (SWB) and XLT LWB versions score a $7000 gift card and XLT SWB variants get $5000.

Ford rarely discounts its top-selling Ranger ute — which was the best selling vehicle in the nation in 2024 — but buyers of slightly outdated 24.5 model year versions of the Ranger XLT, Sport, Wildtrak, Raptor and Tremor now get a $3000 gift card.

The excess stock of Ranger might be due to the brand bringing in a hefty amount of stock in an attempt to lock down the top spot in the sales chart in front of a fast finishing Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.

Buyers can also get $2000 off old stock of the brand’s electric Mustang Mach-E SUV, $2000 off Transit Custom and $3000 off the bigger Transit van.

The influx of new car deals at the start of this year by multiple brands points to the market shifting in favour of buyers and supply begins to outstrip demand.

Toyota Australia Vice President Sales and Marketing Sean Hanley said he expects the new car market to contract in 2025, down from the circa-1.23m record set in 2024.

Hanley also said it was likely the ute market would remain flat — which is where Ford draws most of its sales from — and the influx of several new rivals such as the BYD Shark 6 and Kia Tasman will make it a very interesting year.

This means buyers can expect more discounting throughout the year as brands need to be more competitive on price to maintain market share.