Anchors away! Ford’s unprecedented plan to fast-track Ranger, Everest deliveries
A chartered car carrier has been enlisted by Ford to try and break the quarantine deadlock on Australian docks.
As waiting times for the top selling Ford Ranger pick-up continue to rise, Ford Australia has signed a three-year exclusive deal to put the Grand Quest – a roll-on, roll-off car carrier with a capacity of 2600 vehicles – onto a dedicated route from Thailand to Australia and New Zealand.
Its only job will be to bring Rangers and Everests to our shores, and returning to Thailand without any back-loading or additional stops.
CarExpert first heard about the plan from a Ford dealership. It will be confirmed today (Thursday) by Ford Australia after months of planning and negotiation, including the involvement of the Ford Motor Company in the USA.
The move comes as several other companies – believed to include MG – are also investigating specially chartered ships, as well as putting cars into shipping containers to combat a shortage of roll-on, roll-off (Ro-Ro) boats and make it easier to avoid quarantine contamination a
