In brief: History of the Ford F-150 in Australia

This week the 2023 Ford F-150 was announced for the Australian market, with the American pick-up set to do battle with the likes of the Chevrolet Silverado and the Ram 1500.

While it’s been 30 years since the F-150 was on sale here, Ford's F-Series has a long history in Australia, dating back more than 70 years.

The first-generation ‘Effie’ pick-up started in 1948 with the F-1 – an evolution of post-war truck designs – with a number of vehicles being assembled in Australia and utilising locally-built tubs, all powered by a 3.9-litre ‘Flathead’ V8.

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Ford eventually launched the F-100 in 1953, but it would be more than a decade before the model was reintroduced to the Australian market.

While the F-100 eventually gave way to the F-150, it wasn’t the last Effie to be sold here; the F-250 and F-350 models were brought to the country and available to purchase from local Ford dealerships for a five year period up to 2006.

At the time, buyers could choose from a 5.4-litre petrol V8 or a 7.3-litre turbo-diesel V8 depending on the vehicle, available with both rear- and four-wheel drive.

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They may end up being the last V8-powered F-Series trucks in Australia, with Ford announcing it’s bringing the 3.5-litre twin-turbo ‘EcoBoost’ petrol V6 engine in the upcoming F-150.

The pick-up is arguably returning to its roots, with the first F-100 brought into the country in 1965 by Ford being powered by a 3.7-litre six-cylinder engine.

It would be around 1971 when the F-100 returned to our shores with a V8, before the ute was axed from Ford’s local line-up 10 years later.

In 1987, Ford Australia reintroduced the full-size pick-up to its range with the F-100’s successor, the F-150.

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Powered by a choice of either a 4.9-litre six-cylinder or a 5.0-litre V8, both the F-150 and F-250 would end up being adopted by many of the country’s state ambulance services, thanks to the addition of a large custom body similar to those found in the US.

When the F-150 was discontinued in 1993, Holden stepped into the void and brought in the GMC 1500 – a badge-engineered Chevrolet Silverado – which was used by ambulance services before the majority moved to European-style sliding-door commercial vans.

The Ford F-Series has had an on-again, off-again love affair with Australia over the last century. Given the demise of the Falcon ute and the increasing popularity of American pick-ups in recent years, maybe this time the Effie will be here to stay.