Ford F-150: Locally converted utes heading to Australian customers

Ford Australia has officially started customer deliveries of the locally remanufactured F-150 full-size pickup.

To commemorate the milestone, the Blue Oval held an event with select owners who got the opportunity to tour the RMA Automotive facility in Mickleham, Victoria where the F-150 is remanufactured from left- to right-hand drive.

Ford says nationwide customer deliveries of the F-150 will ramp up throughout November.

The Ford F-150 is currently offered in Australia in two different variants – XLT and Lariat. Both are available with either a short- or long-wheelbase.

Supplied Credit: CarExpert

The locally remanufactured pickup currently priced from $106,950 before on-roads for the XLT SWB, and extends to $140,945 before on-roads for the Lariat LWB.

As previously reported, the F-150 is currently being remanufactured in a 21,000 square-metre facility in Mickleham, Victoria.

This facility has the capacity to remanufacture up to 20 F-150s per day from left- to right-hand drive.

Supplied Credit: CarExpert

Each vehicle currently takes around 22 hours over three working days to remanufacture from left- to right-hand drive.

As part of the remanufacturing process around 500 parts are installed or modified, including components for the steering, climate control, lighting systems, as well as the instrument panel.

To read a full breakdown of the F-150’s local remanufacturing process, click here.

Supplied Credit: CarExpert

At launch Ford is only offering the Australian-specification F-150 with a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine. This engine produces 298kW of power and 678Nm of torque.

Ford Australia is aware of the F-150 Hybrid, Raptor, V8 and electric Lightning options. It hasn’t ruled out bringing them Down Under, but only once the remanufacturing process is established and demand for the EcoBoost twin-turbo V6 engine has been proven.

The Blue Oval has since revealed an updated version of the F-150 which is set to arrive in Australia in late 2024.

MORE: Everything Ford F-150MORE: 2024 Ford F-150 review