How much will the Ford F-150 cost in Australia?

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Ford Australia will bring the F-150 full-size pickup to Australia by 2023, saying it will place an emphasis on the upfront cost being “competitive” with existing rivals.

The full-size pickup market currently consists of a narrow but increasingly popular field of competitors – the Chevrolet Silverado and Ram 1500. Both command well above the $40,000-70,000 asking price of midsize utes such as the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux. 

Ram offers the fourth-generation 1500 as the brand’s value option with a starting price of $82,950 before on-road costs. The Ford F-150, when it arrives, is more likely to compete with the fifth-generation 1500 which kicks off at $119,900. The cheapest Silverado requires a hefty $106,990.

Last month Ram sold 303 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups and Chevrolet managed 126 Silverados. For context, Australians bought 342 Volkswagen Amaroks and 148 Jeep Gladiators in the same month.

With the F-150’s official release just over a year away, pricing is not yet available. But Ford Australia CEO Andrew Birkic said the F-150 would “need to be competitive” in the market.

Nat Manariti, global trucks enterprise manager at Ford Australia added that the F-150 would be “priced favourably when you look at the existing options that are in the market.”

From launch the F-150 will be offered in more affordable workhorse XLT grade alongside a luxurious Lariat catering to lifestyle pickup buyers who intend on using their vehicle for a range of everyday duties.

In the US the F-150 XLT starts from USD$35,400 (AUD$47,367) and the Lariat at USD$45,045 (AUD$60,727) before on-road costs. But as we’ve seen with rivals from Ram and Chevrolet, these direct conversations won’t be applicable to Australian buyers, not least because ours will come from the factory in left-hand-drive and need local conversion.

It’s important to remember pricing of a vehicle is incredibly complicated and includes a number of factors such as building and material costs, shipping, government fees and exchange rates.

Despite possessing a reputation as a key market for utility vehicles, full-size pickups have seldom been offered in the Australian market, primarily due to the lack of a right-hand-drive option from the factory.

To overcome this barrier, Ford has chosen to ship left-hand-drive F-150 models to Australia where they will be remanufactured by RMA Automotive in Victoria.  The Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado go through a similar conversion process at Victoria’s Walkinshaw facility.

Left-hand to right-hand-drive conversions always mean a hefty premium due to the required research and development, labour and materials costs, plus making everything compliant.

One notable example was seen between the natively built RHD Mustang and the Walkinshaw-converted Chevrolet Camaro, which came only from the factory as a left-hooker. In 2018 the Chevy commanded a circa-$20,000 premium over the Ford despite a similar level of specification.

Ford’s decision to import the value-focused F-150 XLT grade should provide it with the ability to narrow in on the $82,950 (before on-roads) entry price of the Ram 1500 in DS Express guise. Chasing Cars speculates pricing of this entry-level F-150 will likely fall between $85,000 and $90,000.

More difficult to predict is the F-150 Lariat’s price. It comes complete with features fitting of a luxury vehicle (such as leather interior) but does not reach the same level of specification as the more expensive Platinum and Limited grades sold in the US.

Ford Australia’s stated determination to be competitive with existing rivals means pricing will likely fall between the $100,000 to $110,000 mark.

For now, we will have to wait for the official list of specifications and pricing for the F-150 which will emerge closer to the launch date in mid-2023.