Can Ford’s Blue Oval resist the inevitable Chinese wave?

 Customers still want rough and tough off-road SUVs — and presently, these vehicles are not fully suited for electrification.

Over the past two years, Chinese car brands have surged into the Malaysian market, rapidly eroding the dominance of many legacy manufacturers.

Yet there is at least one segment in which traditional carmakers may still hold their ground: the premium 4×4 pickup and SUV sector.

Ford, with its classic Blue Oval brand, has long been the market leader in this space in Malaysia. Its position dates back to the days when the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) successfully persuaded the government to extend “private owner” status to twin-cab 4×4 pickup trucks.

The policy change had a clear purpose. It allowed micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) owners to purchase a practical utility vehicle that could also serve as family transport — without the burden of half-yearly mandatory vehicle inspections typically imposed on commercial vehicles.

Demand quickly boomed.

The late Aishah Ahmad, who led the Malaysia Motor Traders Association for nine years and a further 23 years after it was renamed the Malaysian Automotive Association, played a pivotal role in opening the door for the twin-cab pickup segment.

The Ford Motor Company was quick to seize the opportunity, becoming the first to market with the locally assembled Ranger 2.5-litre turbo-diesel Twin Cab pickup truck. The turbocharged diesel power was a popular innovation and the marketing team then led by Steven Tan created a new niche of premium pick-ups and kept the Ford Ranger on the list of top-selling pick-up trucks.

Today, however, the competitive landscape has shifted dramatically.

Chinese manufacturers have launched roughly ten pickup models in Malaysia over the past year or two. Among them is the JAC T9 electric pickup, alongside several models featuring hybrid powertrains.

More advanced powertrains, including extended-range electric hybrids, are likely to appear soon.

With such an influx of new models, it might seem inevitable that Chinese brands will eventually dominate the segment, as they have done in other parts of the automotive market.

But the Blue Oval is not standing still.

US-based Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley has openly acknowledged the technological progress made by Chinese automakers. In fact, he has even imported a Chinese electric vehicle for his own use in the United States and spoken publicly about his admiration for it.

In that context, Farley has also set a clear direction for Ford’s future in the pickup and SUV market.

His view is simple: customers still want tough, capable pickup trucks and off-road SUVs, and for now, these vehicles are not ideally suited to full electrification — until battery technology improves further.

This thinking may explain why production of the Ford F-150 Lightning, the company’s electric pickup, was recently halted following the withdrawal of a US$7,500 federal subsidy and a sharp decline in US demand.

Farley was also in Australia earlier this month, where he warned about the growing competitive threat posed by Chinese automakers — not only in Australia but across Southeast Asia.

Two of Ford’s most successful global vehicles, the Ranger pickup and the Everest SUV, are developed by more than 2,000 engineers at the company’s research and development centre in Melbourne.

But the competitive pressure is intensifying.

Chinese brands such as Chery, BYD, GWM and LDV have expanded rapidly into Australia in recent years. More are expected to follow, attracted by Australia’s status as one of the few developed markets that imposes no tariffs on imported vehicles.

Farley acknowledged that Chinese manufacturers are becoming formidable competitors.

“They are the new movers and shakers who are going to disrupt Ford’s acceleration in Southeast Asia, not just here,” as quoted in Australian-based portal GoAutoNews.

“They are far from perfect … but they are very ambitious and very good at engineering partially electric vehicles.”

At the same time, Farley emphasised that Ford is learning from the Chinese playbook. The company’s Territory SUV, engineered and built in China, has become a significant contributor to Ford’s growth in emerging markets.

Still, he insists it is not too late for Ford. It will be doubling down on areas where it believes it can still stand apart — particularly enthusiast-focused life-styled vehicles.

This includes models such as the Bronco in the United States, which shares its underlying platform with the Ranger and Everest.

Farley’s visit to Australia was also about something more strategic: the future of Ford’s engineering operations there.

Ford currently maintains the largest automotive engineering base in Australia, employing around 2,000 engineers responsible for the global Ranger and Everest programmes.

But Farley made it clear that the long-term future of that workforce cannot be taken for granted.

He indicated that Ford would seek government support to maintain the engineering base, noting that countries such as China and Vietnam could offer significantly lower labour costs.

“Any engineering organisation, especially in a high-cost place like Australia, has to think deeply about how to remain competitive with similar activities around the world,” he said.

Interestingly, Farley’s assessment appears to resonate in Peninsular Malaysia, where Chinese 4×4 SUVs and pick-ups are not unusual.

Unlike that in Borneo, where Sabah and Sarawak roads resemble the rugged terrain of Australia, Chinese electric pickups and 4×4 SUVs remain largely absent — suggesting that in this rugged segment, the battle for dominance is far from over.

Imagine an Asean-ised Ford Bronco being offered for sale in Southeast Asia.

Ford could also import the Ford Territory from its Nanchang-based Jiangling Motor JV, under the China-Asean Free Trade Agreement.

This is a market development eagerly watched by both pickup enthusiasts and global automakers. - FMT

 Yamin Vong is on Facebook yamin.com.my.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.