Look out big American pickup trucks: a best-selling Australian ute is gunning for your load-carrying and hauling credentials.

Ford has announced that a Super Duty version of its Ranger ute will go on sale in New Zealand in 2026. The company says it goes "next level and... can do things no other mid-size truck can do".
The Super Duty name is used on uprated versions of the Ford F-150 pickup in the US, but this is the first time it has been applied to the Ranger.
Ford's confirmed ratings put the forthcoming Ranger Super Duty into contention as a rival for the likes of the Chevrolet Silverado and Ram 1500, a league above the standard Ranger, Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi Triton: tow rating of 3.5t (most utes in the Ranger class are 3.5t maximum), 4.5t gross vehicle mass (GVM) and a whopping 8t gross combined mass (GCM, or the maximum weight of vehicle, payload and towing together).
The new model was developed by Ford's IMG Product Development team, led by a 1,500-strong group of designers, engineers and specialists in Australia. It will be manufactured in Thailand for sale in markets around the world.
Target customers include emergency service operators, farmers, utilities and forestry workers, miners and infrastructure technicians.
“Ranger Super Duty blends the award-winning traits of Ranger like advanced safety and smart features that we know customers love with heavy-duty capability and delivers something our buyers told us they needed but couldn’t get from any other manufacturer. This work-ready vehicle will give owners the flexibility they need to get the big jobs done and all with an extensive factory-backed warranty,” says Sondra Sutton Phung, general manager, Global Truck, Ford Motor Company.
"As we move closer to launch, we will continue to work closely with fleets and vehicle upfitters across the country to be sure that Ranger Super Duty does everything they expect it to, and so much more,” says Annaliese Atina, managing director, Ford NZ.