BANGKOK: Ford has announced the start of production for the Ranger pickup truck at its Thailand plant to help meet growing demand across the Asia Pacific region.
The Ranger is also built at Ford’s joint-venture facility, AutoAlliance Thailand, which remains the company’s main production facility for Ranger in the region.
With AutoAlliance Thailand expected to operate at full throttle, Ford invested an additional US$186 million in its own plant to boost production.
The Ranger is Ford’s best-selling pickup truck in the Asia Pacific region. This includes being the best-selling pickup truck overall in New Zealand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Cambodia and Myanmar, as well as the second-best selling pickup in Australia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
As the number three pickup truck in Thailand, the Ranger has continued to increase segment share since it was launched in 2011.
Ford is one of the largest automotive investors in Thailand, having invested over US$2.7 billion between its wholly-owned and joint-venture manufacturing facilities, and currently employs about 10,000 people in Thailand.
Ford launched the new Ranger last year, which offered an array of smart technologies combined with off-road capability and fuel efficiency.
It has a class-leading ability to wade through water up to 800mm deep, and with 230mm of ground clearance.
Other key features in the Ranger include SYNC in-car connectivity system, Front and Rear Parking sensors, Electronic Stability Program, Hill Launch Assist, Hill Descent Control, Adaptive Load Control and Emergency Brake Assistance.
