Ford Territory at Thailand motor expo

FORD’S stand at this year’s Thailand international motor expo will have a distinctly Australian flavour, with the locally designed and engineered Territory SUV and Ranger ute both on show.

The Territory is being marketed as a premium SUV in Thailand and will be sold in range-topping Titanium guise with a 2.7-litre turbo-diesel V6 engine that produces 142kW of power, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

Pricing for the Territory is already available and has been listed at just under the equivalent of $A100,000.

The addition of the Territory into the Thai line-up will bring Ford’s SUV offerings to three, with the Escape and Everest already on sale in the Kingdom.

Ford Thailand will pull out the big guns to promote the Territory, with high-profile local personality and businessman Patee Sarasin attending the launch and acting as an ambassador for the brand.

A 124kW 2.5-litre petrol version of the locally engineered Ranger ute – which is already on sale in Australia but is new for Thailand – will also be on show at the motor expo.

Left: Ford Territorys being shipped to Thailand in August.

The home-grown Territory was shown for the first time in March this year at the Bangkok motor show and received a positive reception.

An initial batch of 100 was shipped to Thailand in August, with further shipments yet to be confirmed.

The news of the showing at the Thailand motor expo comes as Ford Australia celebrates a production milestone for the Territory back home, with 150,000 units built to date.

Ford Australia president and CEO Bob Graziano said it was a significant milestone for the local arm of the US car-maker.

“Territory was the brainchild of Ford in Australia and we are incredibly proud of this car and what it has achieved,” he said.

The idea for the Territory came about after extensive market research revealed a need for a locally built vehicle that combined characteristics of a family car, an SUV and a people-mover.

After launching in 2004, it quickly became a sales hit and went on to win a number of awards, including Wheels Car of the Year.

A major update last year included revised styling and the belated introduction of a diesel engine, which led to a surge in sales.

Despite fluctuating sales this year, sales are up 16 per cent to the end of October, putting the SZ Territory in second place on the large SUV segment sales chart with a 13.8 per cent market share, behind the Toyota Prado on 14.2 per cent.

Ford said that the 150,000th Territory to roll off the production line at Broadmeadows is a white, rear-wheel-drive TX TDCi.