There’s no question that Aussies love their Utes. Now Australian tradies are set to froth over a new entrant and one of the world’s best-selling models – according to TradieSpec’s Tim Cullen.

Aussie tradies clearly have a love affair with Utes. Currently, more than one in five new vehicles sold in Australia are Utes. And the big boys are having a field day in sales with the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, and Isuzu Dmax all fighting it out for the top cars sold in 2023.

Now Tim Cullen, trade industry insider and CEO of TradieSpec, a first of its kind trade specific Ute rental solution, has predicted Ford’s domination in 2024 with the release of the revamped F-150.

As Tim explains, “The launch of the Ford F-150 will undoubtedly carve out significant market share, with tradies already big fans of Ford for their power as an all-inclusive trade and lifestyle-ready vehicles. It really goes to show that the light commercial vehicle market in Australia continues to boom and is nowhere near saturation.”

In the final month of 2023, the Ford Ranger overtook the Toyota HiLux as Australia’s top-selling vehicle with a margin of 2245 units.

Tim goes on to say, “The introduction of the F-150 is likely to further cement Ford’s position as Australia’s leader in light commercial sales.

Earlier this month Ford announced a halt to F-150 deliveries in Australia due to a fault discovered under the bonnet after the pick-ups were converted from left to right-hand drive. Tim believes that despite the delay the popularity of the model will remain at Ute to watch this year.

“It’s been inconvenient for those waiting on the hotly anticipated model, but the sentiment among our tradie audience in particular is still one of excitement for the model with tradies keen to get their hands on both Ford Ranger and F-150 vehicles.”

Updated to the Australian market the new Ford F-150 will pax some punch, sporting a 3.5 L twin-turbo V6 engine with a fuel economy of 12.5 litres per 100km. Powered by a 10-speed automatic transmission with drive sent through a four-wheel drive system the Aussie F-150 will also feature new LED headlights, bumpers, and a grille as well as a clever ‘pro access tailgate’ that can swing open or fold down.

Peaking Tim’s interest and what he predicts to be a big upgrade winner for tradies securing their new F-150 is the ‘MRT Canopies Tradesmen Package’. He says, “l think we will see tradies looking to customise their F-150 with an MRT canopy to make it the perfect workhorse for their business.

Customisation and trade-ready vehicles are something Tim and his team at TradieSpec know all too well, with packages such as the MRT tradesman packages standard across their fleet of tradie-specific vehicle rentals.

“What sets us apart at TradieSpec is that we can configure the vehicle to your specifications, including tow bars, ladder racks and more.” says Tim.

TradieSpec offers a range of premium, commercial, trade-ready vehicles with flexible vehicle rental options. Key to the model is the rent-to-own service which includes maintenance, insurance, and registration as part of the monthly cost.