China is the biggest car market in the world, and carmakers have been developing and building models to meet the demands of the Chinese customers for ages. That is exactly why Ford is also making efforts to be competitive there. The carmaker is working on a Ford Ranger for the Chinese customers, with a name that is next to impossible to pronounce for the Americans.
Ford Youqixia. Try to say that name out loud. Nope, it did not work for us either in the beginning. Maybe we're not good at pronouncing Chinese, but we do know that the model is actually a rebranded Ford Ranger that will sell in China.
Ford has been building cars in China for China. But it turned out the strategy was not quite profitable, so they are moving on to building and selling the existing SUVs and pickup trucks via dedicated storefronts. The Ford Bronco and the Ford Ranger are on the list. The Bronco will keep its original name, but it will be different for the Ranger, FordAuthority reports.
Ford revealed the entire lineup of the Chinese market at the Guangzhou Auto Show, with the ranger being part of the plan. But to make it easier for the local customers, Ford has come up with the "Youqixia," which is Chinese for "Ranger."
The model will be built in China and will come with several updates. It will get a better interior space and "an intelligent configuration," according to Ford.
The First Edition will drop with a starting price of 264,800 yuan, which translates to little over $37,000 at the current exchange rates. The petrol version gets the 2.3-liter EcoBoost power plant with 190 horsepower and 450 Nm of torque.
Meanwhile, the variant powered by the 2.3-liter Puma diesel with 137 horsepower starts at $268,800 ($37,566). The 3.0-liter V6 EcoBoost is not available on the Chinese market for the moment, and nor is the 2.7-liter EcoBoost.
Photo: Ford China
The price of the First Edition includes generous standard equipment. A 12.3-inch full LCD instrument cluster and a 12.1-inch touchscreen are on board. A drone interconnection is also available.
The model seems very off-road-ready. It comes with the off-road transparent chassis, a system that plays what the underbody-positioned camera “sees” underneath on the central screen. The Off-Road Wading Detection, Off-Road Creep mode, and Off-Road Turning Assistance are on the menu.
This variant is exclusively painted in Danxia Orange/Volcano Black over a black leather interior with contrasting orange accents and stitching.
Ford had to admit a massive slip made with the launch of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, calling 2021 “The Year of the Horse.” It was quite a pun-intended culture flop since 2021 was actually “The Year of the Ox,” and many took it as a sign of disrespect.
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