In Australia, new vehicles are subjected to what’s known as Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) testing for safety purposes, much the same way American vehicles undergo their own form of safety and crash testing. In that particular assessment, the Ford Mustang Mach-E recently earned a perfect five-star rating – at least in non-GT form, as the high-performance model’s aggressive seat bolstering doesn’t leave room for the center airbag located between the front seats in regular models. Now, with the Ford F-150 set to join that EV crossover in Australia, it seems as if the full-size pickup won’t have an ANCAP rating when it launches there, according to CarExpert.
This news comes directly from Ford Australia CEO and president Andrew Birkic, who said that the automaker won’t be offering ANCAP a Ford F-150 for testing, unless the agency selects it. ANCAP is an independent firm, and is able to pick vehicles that it wants to access from pre-built inventory, dealer stock, or the production line, at which point it’s taken straight to ANCAP’s test lab. However, it is worth noting that agency hasn’t yet tested any full-size trucks – including the Chevy Silverado and Ram lineups – though it’s looking to do precisely that at some point.
The Blue Oval first announced that it would be exporting the Ford F-150 to Australia in March 2022, where a company called RMA Automotive will convert those pickups to right-hand drive before they’re sold to customers. The very first batch of F-150s was slated to be shipped to Australia last October, though that process actually didn’t begin until this past February following a bit of a delay. With those trucks set to finally be delivered to customers next month, it recently became evident that there are a few interesting differences between the Australian Ford F-150 and the American version, but customers in that country will soon be able to purchase select accessories for their pickup, regardless.
As Ford Authority recently reported, the F-150 may not be the last Ford vehicle shipped to Australia and converted to right-hand drive for that market either, though for now at least, there are no clear plans in place to add to that existing lineup.
We’ll have more on the F-150 soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford F-Series news, Ford F-150 news, and continuous Ford news coverage.
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