Ford reveals redesigned Ranger pickup with new Raptor performance model

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

The addition of the Raptor — starting 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.

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Ford CEO Jim Farley last month told investors that special variants such as the Raptor share roughly 80% of their parts with regular models but have 30% higher contribution margins, with a “twofold increase in capital efficiency.”

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

“The Raptor’s going to be at the top end of our Ranger offering,” Sauer said. “It’s going to extend up our overall transaction price for Ranger.”

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

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

Ford also is raising the starting prices of its standard Ranger models, which include additional tech and safety features. The price of the entry-level XL model will start at $34,160, up roughly 18% from $27,400 for the current model. The Ranger Raptor raises the top-end starting price for the vehicle by 34%. Pricing includes mandatory destination fees.

Ordering for the 2024 Ranger opens 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 critical to the Detroit automaker’s global sales. Ford produces the vehicle in five different plants globally to be sold in more than 180 markets.

The Ford brand sold more than 1 million pickups globally in 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,” Jim Baumbick, vice president of Ford product development and quality, told CNBC. “We’re a clear global No. 2 and we have our sights fully set for the top of the podium.”

Ranger’s U.S. sales 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 top 117,000 units.

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

“Ford is going to be trying to decide at any given moment which is the vehicle to produce, but they can flex back and forth,” said Stephanie Brinley, principal automotive analyst at S&P Global Mobility.

Baumbick says balancing production of the Ranger and Bronco at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant is something he’s spending 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 the Ranger side,” he said. “As we launch the new Ranger, we’re going to be constantly balancing between the two.”

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

To assist in differentiating the pickups, Ford added more capability 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 2.3-liter turbocharged engine with 270 horsepower and 310 foot-pounds of torque. A 2.7-liter V6 twin-turbo engine that’s currently offered in the F-150 and Bronco SUV also will be available. That engine produces 315 horsepower and 400 foot-pounds of torque.

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