Ford hits 100,000 in Australia for the first time in 16 years: VFACTS 2024

Ford has recorded more than 100,000 annual deliveries in Australia for the first time in 16 years – following a decade of its lowest sales on record and the end of local vehicle manufacturing.

Ford had not delivered more than 100,000 vehicles since 2008 when the Australian-built Falcon sedan, wagon and ute were its number-one car.

The result is a 14.1 per cent increase over 2023, with the assistance of the Everest family SUV which almost doubled its deliveries (up 75.8 per cent) and consistent sales for the Ranger ute, albeit down 1.2 per cent year-on-year.

It marks the first time Ford has been the number-two brand in Australia in several decades, seeing it beat Mazda, which had held the position since 2015 after it overtook Holden.

Ford Australia president and CEO Andrew Birkic said the company was proud of its dealers who have been with the company "on the journey" to becoming the number-two brand and selling more than 100,000 vehicles, and thanked its customers for their support.

The Ranger was Australia’s best-selling vehicle for the second year in a row – the first time a Ford has consecutively topped the charts since the Falcon in 1992 and 1993 – ahead of the Toyota RAV4, Toyota HiLux, Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Outlander.

Last year, 62,593 Rangers were reported as sold, followed by 58,718 RAV4s and 53,499 HiLuxes.

"We are incredibly proud that Ranger has gone back-to-back and been crowned Australia’s favourite vehicle once again in 2024," Birkic said.

"The secret to the Ranger’s success is that it was created from the very start by our local design and engineering team with Australians’ needs front of mind."

In each segment Ford competes in, the Ranger was the best-selling four-wheel-drive ute, the Everest was the best-selling large SUV, and the Mustang was the best-selling sports car under $80,000 – though the BMW 2 Series Coupe, including the M2, was the most popular sports car irrespective of price.

Commenting on the Everest, Birkic said the off-road SUV – a rival to the Toyota LandCruiser Prado and Isuzu MU-X – attracted new buyers to the brand in 2024, along with "Ford loyalists".

The body-on-frame Ranger and Everest – based on the same 'T6.2' platform underneath – accounted for 88.9 per cent of Ford’s volume in 2024 with 89,087 sales combined.

This figure rises to 96.6 per cent when the commercially-orientated F-150 full-size ute, Transit full-size van, Transit Custom mid-size van and Tourneo people mover are counted (94,383).

The Mustang sports car and Mustang Mach-E electric SUV contributed to a 2.1 per cent share (2138), while any remaining stock of the now-discontinued Puma and Escape city and mid-size SUVs were responsible for 1.2 per cent of its sales (1221).

In 2008, the related Ford Falcon sedan and wagon, Falcon Ute, Fairlane luxury sedan and Territory SUV accounted for about 55 per cent of the brand’s volume (57,532 of 104,715) – compared to almost 90 per cent for the Ranger and Everest twins under the skin today.

The dominance of the primarily diesel-powered Ranger and Everest leaves Ford more vulnerable to any potential market disruptions than brands with a wider sales portfolio, such as Toyota where the similar HiLux, Prado and Fortuner accounted for only 27.5 per cent of its deliveries in 2024.

Plans to launch the European-built Puma Gen-E electric city SUV in Australia were cancelled in December 2024 after "an extensive review of the current dynamics of the new-car market," Ford said.

"When you look at our business in Australia what you're seeing is a greater expansion of a broader portfolio," Birkic added.

"Ranger [is] Australia's top-selling car and continues to do very, very well, we're seeing Everest build month-by-month, and then you're bringing in new Transit, new Mustang and F-150, and we're starting to see some stellar results."

In 2024, Ford launched a new-generation Transit Custom van, its Tourneo people-mover twin, and the latest Mustang sports car – along with running changes and new special-edition variants for the Ranger and Everest – following the arrival of the F-150 and Mustang Mach-E in 2023.

The latest result is the second year of growth for Ford in Australia – after a dip in 2022 amid the changeover to the new-generation Ranger and Everest – and is an almost 70 per cent increase over its 2020 result of 59,601, its lowest in decades, due to an industry-wide downturn caused by the pandemic.

Ford closed its Australian manufacturing operations in 2016 after 91 years – seeing the end of the Falcon and Territory – but it has retained a research and development presence with its Melbourne-based Asia Pacific Product Development Centre, which is notably responsible for the Ranger and Everest.

Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.

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