Ford Ranger and Everest to get factory-backed ARB accessories

Ford Australia has announced it will offer a range of vehicle accessories made by aftermarket accessories giant ARB for its Ranger and Everest models.

These parts will be available through selected Ford dealerships and be covered by the vehicle’s full five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Both the Ranger ute and Everest wagon are built on the Australian-developed T6 platform, so there is some cross-over between the parts available for them.

ARB accessories offered under this deal with include popular items such as bullbars, sidesteps, rear steps, electric winches, spotlights, canopies, storage solutions and suspension systems.

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These accessories are designed in Australia by ARB 4x4 to better equip the vehicles for the owners’ personal requirements, be they outback touring, off-road driving, towing or tradie work.

Ford Australia’s engineering team tested and validated the ARB products over thousands of kilometres of driving including in outback South Australia and at Ford’s proving ground at Lara, west of Melbourne. The testing allowed Ford to warrant the accessories to match their vehicle warranty, which exceeds that offered by ARB.

“We are very proud to welcome ARB on-board as they are known globally and respected in the off-road community for their state-of-the-art manufacturing processes and stringent quality controls,” says Andrew Birkic, President and CEO of Ford Australia and New Zealand. “A lot of our customers have told us they’d love to be able to access a wider range of quality off-road accessories through our Ford dealership network, and this collaboration will mean they can head off-road safely with access to a range of ARB accessories.”

Just like the Australian-developed Ford Ranger which is sold in more than 180 markets globally, ARB is an Australian company creating vehicle accessories for global markets where it has garnered a reputation as being some of the best products in the world.

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As such, ARB off-road accessories are revered in many markets including the USA, where demand for their products is huge. ARB exports its products to more than 100 countries around the world.

“ARB is truly honoured to be working with Ford at a global level. This collaboration is a great testament to the progressive vision of Ford and ARB to deliver to customers highly capable off-road vehicles with a broad range of best-in-class accessories,” says Andrew Brown, Managing Director of ARB 4x4 Accessories.

This partnership with ARB 4x4 Accessories follows on from a similar one in the USA where Ford Performance offers protection bars and equipment for the US model Ranger, F-Series and Bronco vehicles, some of which is branded ‘Ford Performance by ARB’. No such co-branding will be seen in Australia, where the products will retain ARB branding.

Such collaboration between the OEM and the aftermarket industry comes at an important time in the development of new vehicles and accessories, as the complexity of the vehicles continues to challenge aftermarket engineers.

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Cameras and radar systems fitted to the front of new vehicles for safety systems such as Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), pedestrian and cyclist detection, and radar cruise control, present challenges in the design of items such as bullbars, as anything fitted to the front of the vehicles could affect the operation of these safety systems.

Ford will continue to offer its Genuine Ford Accessories products for the Ranger and Everest alongside the ARB products, including a steel bullbar for the Ranger which Ford says does not compromise the vehicle’s five-star ANCAP safety rating.

This rating was achieved prior to more stringent testing procedures introduced by ANCAP back in 2018, and ANCAP no longer tests vehicles fitted with accessories such as bullbars. The ARB Deluxe bullbar (part number 3440400) for Ford Ranger models from 2015 onwards (which includes the current model Ranger) also passed this older testing to not affect the car’s ANCAP rating.

The roll-out of Ford-backed ARB 4x4 Accessories will hit Ford dealers in the second half of 2021.