Ford Ranger under attack: Ute threats coming in 2025
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Success puts a target on your back with fresh rivals already circling the best-selling Ranger in pursuit of stealing sales in 2025.
The Ford Ranger is set to be Australia's best-selling vehicle for the second year running but begins 2025 under siege from an increasing number of competitors.
Having knocked off arch-rival Toyota HiLux in 2023 – after the Toyota held the top spot for seven consecutive years – the Ranger's sales success has continued into 2024, but the battle in the trenches is heating up.
While the next generation HiLux is not due to arrive in 2026, there's a host of rivals hoping to eat into the Ranger's sales in the meantime – with around one-in-five new vehicles sold in Australia a ute.
The BYD Shark 6 has stolen a march on the 2025 Ford Ranger PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) as the first hybrid dual-cab on sale in Australia – and keenly priced at $57,900 plus on-road costs.
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That sort of money will get you behind the wheel of a Ranger XLS Double Cab 2.0-litre 4×4 ($57,630) – the lowest trim-level in the line-up apart from the entry-level Ranger XL.
On paper the Shark 6 appears to have sharp teeth with more power than the $90k (before on-road costs) Ranger Raptor – enabling a quicker 0-100km/h claim of 5.7 seconds – and the same 2500kg tow rating as the chest-beating Ford Performance hero.
The Ranger PHEV, Ford says, will offer the segment-leading 3500kg tow rating to outperform the Shark 6, while the line-up is set for an even hardier version when the uprated Ranger Super Duty goes on sale in 2026 with a 4500kg braked towing rating.
BYD won't say exactly how many Shark 6s it expects to sell in 2025 – the ute's first full year on sale – but suggested it would have to outsell the Sealion 6, meaning more than 850 per month, around 10,200 annually.
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A backlog of more than 4000 orders will kick things of when first customer deliveries of the Shark 6 are expected in January 2025.
While the Ranger has its mirrors full with the Shark 6, both will face another fresh entry into the battle when the 2025 Kia Tasman lands in June.
Kia's debut into the dual-cab battle comes after its reinvention over the last decade – from design, product line and even a new logo – has seen it become one of Australia's most popular brands.
That makes the Tasman a formidable opponent even before it lands in Australia, given Kia has one of the longest new-vehicle warranties and a mature dealer network with 162 outlets across the country.
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The car maker has said it's looking to take a 10 per cent share of Australia's ute segment – equating to around 25,000 sales a year – with the best-selling Ranger posting around 60,000 in 2024 for a 25 per cent share.
As the Tasman arrives in Australia, Chinese brand LDV will bring its first Terron 9 to local customers, a new-generation dual-cab to be sold alongside the existing T60 diesel and eT60 electric pick-ups.
Due between April and June – and with local pricing and specs yet to be announced – it will include both diesel models and an eTerron 9 battery-electric version in body slightly larger than Ranger but smaller than the Ford F-150.
New players aren't the only brands looking to reign in Ranger.
An updated Mazda BT-50 will arrive in the New Year, while a new-generation Nissan Navara – which will be twinned with recently updated Mitsubishi Triton in the same way the Ranger shares its underpinnings with the VW Amarok – is on the way and could be in Australian showrooms by the end of 2025.
The new Navara may also include a fresh version of its off-road focussed Navara Warrior flagship, developed in Australia by engineering firm Premcar as a Ranger Raptor rival.
Ranger Raptor is also under attack from the Isuzu D-Max Blade, launched in late 2024, again a dual-cab with greater off-road capability and developed in Australia, with Isuzu tapping Walkinshaw Automotive for the job.
Ironically, Melbourne-based Walkinshaw Automotive worked with Ford on its two-time Finke Desert Race-winning Ranger Raptor, beating a Chevrolet Silverado driven by V8 Supercars legend Craig Lowndes in the 2024 event.
Walkinshaw also remanufactures the Silverado, Toyota Tundra and Ram Trucks to right-hand drive, among other upgrades, for Australian showrooms, with the Ford F-150 the only large ute the organisation is not involved with.
On the battery electric side, there's also an electric Isuzu D-Max due in 2025, with precise arrival timing yet to be confirmed.
An electric Ranger is not expected until the next generation is launched in the United States in 2027, with Ford all but confirming by announcing an electric 'mid-size electric pick-up'.
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