Ford said its new Ranger pickup has been given new features that boost its practicality, capability and versatility.
"The next-generation Ranger is designed to go more places, work harder and offer more comfort and refinement than ever before," Ford said in a statement on Monday.
The pickup also will have a rugged new look, the automaker said.
Ford did not disclose any more details about the pickup ahead of its online unveiling on Wednesday, Nov. 24.
The pickup will be sold in 180 countries including Ford’s European markets.
Ford has not said if the latest version will be sold in the U.S. where the current Ranger is sold alongside the vastly more successful F-150 full-size pickup, but the company is expected to add the new model at a later date.
The Ranger was developed by Ford’s design center in Australia.
A plug-in version will also be launched by 2024 as part of Ford’s decision that its commercial vehicle range in Europe will offered with full-electric or plug-in hybrid versions by 2024. The electrified Ranger is expected to be a plug-in hybrid rather than a full-electric model.
Ford currently dominates the relatively small European pickup market with the Ranger after competitors such as Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault axed or scaled back models.
Ford sold 12,000 Rangers in Europe in the first quarter, compared to 8,890 for the next best-selling pickup, the Toyota Hilux, according to data from JATO Dynamics market researchers.
Ford recently launched the smaller and cheaper Maverick pickup in the U.S. on a unibody platform. The company has said it will not offer the new Maverick in Europe.
The Ranger also will form the basis of the next Volkswagen Amarok as part of an industrial co-operation between the two automakers.
Ford will build the Ranger for Europe alongside the VW Amarok at its newly expanded Silverton plant in South Africa. The company is investing $686 million into the factory to increase annual capacity to 200,000 units from 168,000, Ford said earlier this year.
VW has said the Amarok will be “clearly different” from the Ranger in terms of styling.
The Ranger will be the first Ford-developed model that will also form the basis for a VW version under the automakers’ alliance, announced in 2019.
