Back in May 2022, The Blue Oval announced that the Ford F-150 would be heading to Australia, where a third-party company called RMA Automotive in Mickleham, Victoria is completing right-hand drive conversions on those pickups for the local market. Trouble is, the Australian Ford F-150 launch has thus far been plagued by a host of recalls – many of them related to compliance issues and the aforementioned conversion – as well as more than one stop-sale. Though deliveries have since resumed, Ford F-150 customers in Australia are now facing another potential disappointment.
That, according to CarExpert, is the fact that both short- and long-wheelbase versions of the Australian Ford F-150 have had their gross combination mass (GCM, or the maximum weight a vehicle can carry and tow at the same time) ratings reduced by 450 kilograms (992 pounds). The shorter pickup will see its GCM rating decrease from 7,720 kilograms (17,019 pounds) to 7,270 kilograms (16,027 pounds) as a result of this change, and the long-wheelbase Ford F-150 is going from 7,315 kilograms (16,126 pounds) to 7,765 kilograms (17,118 pounds). On the bright side, the Aussie Ford F-150 still has a higher GCM than the Chevy Silverado, but trails the Ram 1500 and Toyota Tundra.
“Ford Australia has updated the published maximum gross combination mass (GCM) of the F-150 line-up to include a reduction to account for maximum tow ball downforce weight (TDW) – 10 percent of aggregate trailer mass (ATM),” a Ford spokesperson explained. “The vehicle itself and all other weights, including gross vehicle mass (GVM), payload and maximum braked towing capacity, remain unchanged.”
This is just the latest development of many for the Australian Ford F-150, which has been recalled on numerous occasions over the past year or two. As a result, sales of the pickup have also been halted more than once, many times, over basic compliance issues. However, owners will be compensated for those delays at least, as Ford Authority previously reported.
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