BREAKING NEWS: New Ford Ranger delayed

The new-generation Ford Ranger – one of the most highly-anticipated vehicles to arrive this year – has been struck by its first round of delays due to fresh parts shortages caused by COVID lockdowns in China.

A confidential bulletin sent to Ford dealers has advised a large portion of production will be pushed back to later months, which will have a knock-on effect on those months as well. 

The Ford Australia notice, posted on social media, says: “Next Gen Ranger Q2 (April to June) production has been negatively impacted as a result of some major cities in China now being under COVID lockdown.

“Unfortunately, a portion of the expected Q2 (April to June) production volume will need to be re-calendarised, with detailed impact to production expected to be available over the next fortnight.”

We’re not sure ‘re-calendarised’ is a word (perhaps Ford meant rescheduled) but the message is clear. The queue for a new Ford Ranger just got a bit longer.

The Ford dealer bulletin continued: “For context, the China COVID lockdown has affected 91 suppliers and 393 unique parts utilised on Next Gen Ranger.

“The production loss from Q2 (April to June) has delayed the anticipated timing of the April allocation (for July production) as we assess the latest information available and is now expected on dealer status the morning of Thursday 28 April.

“As a flow-on effect of production loss from Q2 (April to June), a portion of the April dealer allocation (for July production) will now need to be dedicated to build existing dealer orders from earlier allocations, decreasing the volume available to allocate to dealers in April.”

Drive contacted Ford Australia for more information and we will update this story as further details become available.

Meantime, Ford Ranger buyers are already bracing for the newly announced delays – while still grappling with attempts by some dealers to overcharge on dealer delivery fees, which many customers are beginning to realise is a negotiable part of the buying process.

“Here we go,” said one disappointed commenter about the Ford bulletin outlining the new Ranger production delays, before the topic quickly returned to why some dealers are overcharging on dealer delivery fees.