Ford F150 News

Is the BYD Shark 6 going to be joined by a big brother? A full-sized ute might be in the pipeline for the near future, targeting American pick-ups like the Ford F-Series, Ram 1500, Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota Tundra in Australia.

Australia is big like the United States with deserts and oceans and the inhabitants love the same things like the outdoors and sport, and even the same kind of cars and music and beer, well, maybe not beer. But it made sense that with so much in common between these two peoples on either side of the planet, the arrival of the extra large pick-up trucks would be met by open Aussie arms. 

The rising popularity of jumbo pick-up trucks has caught the attention of the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

Ever bigger pick-up trucks and SUVs have caught the attention of the United States’ peak safety body, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). 

Not every body is in love with the Ford Ranger utes like Australia is and around the world different tastes means different No.1 selling cars - here's the list of the most popular cars for 11 countries

There's a reason why some nameplates have been around for so long. Many are the pioneering vehicle's in their respective segments, still dominating sales as they did 50, 60, and in some cases, even 70 years ago.

Australia is losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes thanks to lenient exemptions for utes - particularly full-sized American utes - says a leading policy think tank.

Ford Australia has confirmed the updated F-150 full-size ute will arrive later than initially expected, while keen-eyed Australian fans of America’s darling have spotted an early example of the updated model already here.

After the locally converted Ford F-150 was removed from sale in Australia to address non-compliance issues, the Department of Infrastructure has officially released a series of recalls for the American-built pick-up truck. The recalls concern lighting features and the autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system. Owners will be contacted and can then organise the issues to be rectified at Ford dealerships.Those who took delivery of, or were contracted before, May 6, 2024 are being offered compensation in the form of a five-year/75,000km servicing package. According to the recall notices, the total number of affected vehicles is 2070. Industry sales data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries shows 1085 F-150s have been registered since going on sale in October 2023. Ford promises all vehicles sold from now on at dealers will be fully compliant with Australian Design Rules (ADRs), with the Chevrolet Silverado, RAM 1500 and Toyota Tundra rival now installed back on the Ford Australia website. Each recall concerns one of the four F-150 variants on sale: XLT standard ($106,950) and long wheelbase ($107,945) models along with the Lariat in both wheelbases ($139,950 and $140,945, all before on-road costs).For lighting, the F-150 is not compliant with ADR 06/00-Direction Indicators and ADR 13-Installation of Lighting and Light-signalling Devices. The recalls list issues with the ‘fog lamps’, ‘daytime running lamps’ and ‘indicators’.Ford’s website notes that the ‘rear centre high-mounted white courtesy lamps’, ‘tailgate courtesy lamp’ and ‘side mirror mounted indicator lamps (LWB only)’ have been disabled on the XLT, while the Lariat also has its ‘lower daytime running lamps’ turned off. Additionally, the F-150 was determined in breach of ADR 98-Advanced Emergency Braking for Passenger Vehicles and Light Goods Vehicles. The issue being that the AEB function “may not reactivate after an ignition cycle as per the requirements set out under ADR 98”.A Ford spokesperson told CarsGuide “Repair instructions relating to vehicles impacted by the Stop Sale are now being made available to enable dealers to complete work on impacted units. After the rectification work is completed on each vehicle, it can be delivered to the customer.”So far, the F-150 has been hit by three product safety recalls and two sales pauses in less than 12 months. US-built F-150s are converted locally by partner RMA automotive. RAM and Chevrolet products are also swapped to right-hand drive and revised for Australian standards locally by Walkinshaw, while Toyota is running an extended evaluation program on its Tundra pick-up. The facelifted F-150 went on sale in its United States home market in September 2023 and is expected in Australia by the end of the year. 

Australian MPs at the state and local level have delivered a shocking rebuke to owners of American jumbo trucks, with one councillor describing some owners as "idiots", and a state MP demanding to see "less on our roads".