'We didn't see it as necessary': Ford Australia defends 2025 Ford Ranger PHEV's lacklustre electric driving range against rivals like BYD Shark 6 and GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV

The Ford Ranger plug-in hybrid ute does not have a very long electric driving range, and it’s something that’s been a sticking point for some since its launch earlier this month.

The Blue Oval is confident Ranger customers won’t see its small battery as an issue, pointing out the compromises its rivals the BYD Shark 6 and GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV have had to make to incorporate a sizeable battery.

For reference, the Ford Ranger PHEV has a battery with 11.8kWh of useable ‘space’, while the Shark has 29.58kWh and the Cannon Alpha a huge 37.1kWh. But there are downsides.

Ford’s philosophy, repeated (approaching ad nauseum) at the media launch was not to compromise any of the Ranger’s abilities as you’d expect from a non-PHEV version. In fact, Ford’s line was that the biggest advantage of the battery is the ability to power equipment from the household-style plug in the tray - vehicle-to-load (V2L) style.

This is how Ford Australia Marketing Director Ambrose Henderson put it when asked whether the range would be enough for customers: “There's no point having a ute… if we were compromising on the key components that make it Ranger and being able to perform as a ute.”

Ford said Ranger customers from around the world, many specifically in Australia, opted in to share their trip data and the results showed Ford the vast majority of daily use wouldn’t require massive battery packs.

“We have 11.7 million journeys from our customers, and that data says the average drive per day is less than 40 kilometers.”

Ford’s claimed range for the Ranger PHEV is 49km under quite lenient NEDC testing, with limited testing on the launch showing it’s more likely just north of 30km in the real world depending on use.

Its rivals? The Shark has a 100km NEDC range while the Cannon’s claim is 115km.

“So you could put a huge battery in it, but then you're compromising on all the other things that we know customers need and want to use every day," said Henderson.

This is where Ford’s philosophy comes into play. The BYD Shark has been criticized for its off-road ability and its 2500kg braked-towing limit is short of most utes’. The GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV meanwhile has such a large battery there’s no space for a spare tyre to sit under the tub, plus its 685kg payload capacity is limiting when it comes to loading up gear for work or leisure.

But despite its 3500kg braked towing, near-1000kg payload and off-road prowess, the Ranger also comes with another limitation - its battery can only be charged at a maximum 3.5kW via AC current. This means a wait of around four hours from empty to full.

Ford Australia’s Ranger PHEV Chief Program Engineer Phil said DC fast charging was more necessary for bigger batteries, echoing Ford Australia’s insistence that charging overnight ‘like a phone’ would mean there’s a full battery ready each morning.

“When you look at the system, the way the system works and the brief we've got around the design… We didn't see it as necessary on a plug-in hybrid, that's much more necessary when you're getting into the realms of really large batteries.”

There’s another element to consider, however, and that’s whether everyone who buys a Ranger PHEV will be a private customer (and therefore someone who does plug it in overnight).

According to Ford’s Director of Global Truck for International Markets Group, Nat Manariti, that’s unlikely to be the case.

“Particularly speaking to our fleet customers… This vehicle has been designed and developed taking into consideration it's not just a retail product, it's a complete customer product.”

Of course, it’s up to fleet management as to whether a collection of utes are plugged in to charge en masse in between shifts, but it seems like a logistical struggle compared to a private owner plugging in upon returning home.

To Ford’s credit, in many ways the Ranger PHEV is as capable as a non-PHEV variant, the same can’t be said for its rivals.

And due to the $71,990 starting price (before on-roads), perhaps competing with the much cheaper rivals from China (both sub-$50,000 before on-roads) is best done by using the Ranger’s ability to advantage.

Time will tell whether the Ranger PHEV’s V2L is enough to convince customers a diesel-powered Ranger won’t be sufficient for their needs.