Ford’s leased a whole damn ship to cut Ranger and Everest wait times

Ford has announced an ambitious deal to cut wait times of its popular Ranger ute and Everest SUV – and it involves exclusive use of a vehicle ship between Thailand and Australia/New Zealand.

Operated by Polaris Autoliners, the Grand Quest is a drive-on drive-off car carrier with capacity for 2600 vehicles.

The route from Bangkok to Australia takes about 20 days each way, though this varies depending on exact port locations, weather conditions, and various other issues that may arise. Ford has not yet quantified how its deal will shorten the Ranger’s circa-six month wait times.

Last month, Ford delivered a total 6431 Everest and Ranger models to Australian customers, taking top spot overall with the ute.

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“We are investing significantly in tackling the ongoing supply chain issues head-on, with a focus on ensuring customer cars are delivered as quickly as possible,” Andrew Birkic, president and CEO of Ford Australia and New Zealand told Whichcar.

“Securing an exclusive three-year lease of the Grand Quest will allow Ford Australia to deliver more vehicles to both Australia and New Zealand as we continue to face unprecedented levels of demand”, added Birkic.

The semiconductor shortage is all but over for some lucky manufacturers, especially those building cars in Asia. Now, it’s a challenge of shipping that needs to be overcome – hence Ford’s new initiative.

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Tesla is well known for booking out ships nearly full of Model 3s and Model Ys between China and Australia and registering monstrous sales figures because of it, but Tesla isn’t the only company to roll like this. Ford and others also charter ships full of their own vehicles, along with sharing space with other manufacturers on car carriers.

Ford’s ‘normal’ shipping processes will continue alongside the Grand Quest’s exclusive deal, so rather than changing the whole way Rangers and Everests are delivered, there will simply be a 2600 per month (roughly) baseline of arrivals.

“In a time of great logistical uncertainty, taking the initiative to lease our own ship gives Ford the ability to determine shipping routes and volumes by port, allowing us greater control in very challenging conditions,” said vehicle logistics manager at Ford Australia, Iris Moreno.

Ford has also begun testing if transporting Ranger/Everests within shipping containers rather than as drive-on drive-off cargo may help beat ever-increasing port congestion.