Ford unveils redesigned Ranger truck with new Raptor performance model

DETROIT — Ford Motor on Wednesday revealed its redesigned Ranger midsize pickup for the United States, including a new Raptor performance model.

The addition of the Raptor — which starts at $56,960 — is part of Ford’s plan to increase high-profit variants to boost its bottom line as the company pours billions into electric vehicles.

Ford CEO Jim Farley told investors last month that special variants like the Raptor share about 80% of parts with regular models but have 30% higher profit margins, with a “double of capital efficiency.”

Ford expects the Raptor to represent about 10% of Ranger sales in the U.S., according to Gretchen Sauer, Ford’s pickup truck marketing manager.

“The Raptor is going to be at the top of our Ranger offering,” Sauer said. “It’s going to increase our total transaction price for Ranger.”

Ford declined to release the current average transaction price of the Ranger. Auto analysis firm Edmunds reports that it was about $41,300 as of last month.

Powered by a 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 engine, the Ranger Raptor adds to Ford’s Raptor lineup that currently includes the F-150 full-size pickup and Bronco SUV.

Ford is also raising the starting prices of its standard Ranger models, which include extra technology and safety features. Pricing for the entry-level XL model will start at $34,160, up about 18% from $27,400 for the current model. The Ranger Raptor increases the starting price of the vehicle by 34%. The price includes mandatory destination taxes.

Orders for the 2024 Ranger open this month, with vehicles scheduled to arrive at dealerships beginning in late summer.

While the Ranger’s U.S. sales pale in comparison to Ford’s larger F-Series trucks, the smaller pickup is vital to the Detroit automaker’s global sales. Ford manufactures the vehicle in five different plants globally to be sold in more than 180 markets.

The Ford brand is set to sell more than 1 million pickup trucks globally by 2022, and the automaker said Ranger sales more than doubled from a decade ago to more than 300,000 units last year. The Ranger is second in global sales to the Toyota Hilux, according to industry data.

– The mission has always been to climb the mountain to No. 1, says Jim Baumbick, vice president of Ford’s product development and quality, to CNBC. “We are a clear global No. 2 and we have our sights set on the top of the podium.”

Ranger sales in the U.S. were down about 40% last year as the automaker battled supply chain problems and prioritized production of the Ford Bronco SUV, which saw sales more than triple in 2022 to a peak of 117,000 units.

The Ranger and Bronco are both produced at a plant in Michigan, which creates a kind of push-pull in their respective production.

“Ford is going to try to decide at any time what vehicle to produce, but they can bend back and forth,” said Stephanie Brinley, lead auto analyst at S&P Global Mobility.

Baumbick says balancing Ranger and Bronco production at Ford’s Michigan assembly plant is something he spends a tremendous amount of time working on.

“It’s a challenge. It’s a good problem to have. We have incredible demand on both the Bronco and Ranger sides,” he said. “When we launch the new Ranger, we’re going to be constantly balancing the two.”

The Ranger fits between Ford’s compact Maverick pickup and the automaker’s F-150 and larger F-series full-size trucks. This is the first time the Ranger has been redesigned since Ford released the well-received Maverick pickup in 2021.

To help differentiate the pickups, Ford added more capacity and power to the Ranger. It’s also 2 inches wider and longer than the current generation truck.

The 2024 Ranger will come standard with a 2.3-liter turbocharged engine with 270 horsepower and 310 foot-pounds of torque. A 2.7-liter V6 twin-turbo engine currently offered in the F-150 and Bronco SUV will also be available. That engine produces 315 horsepower and 400 foot-pounds of torque.

The Ranger Raptor comes standard with a 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 engine that is expected to produce a best-in-class 405 horsepower and 430 foot-pounds of torque.