Ford NZ open to Fathom ute and battery electric Bronco
Ford NZ managing director Annaliese Atina says nothing is ruled out, including the Fathom electric ute and the battery electric Bronco, as the brand seeks more electrified product for New Zealand.
Ford New Zealand says it needs more electrified product and has not ruled out either the Fathom electric ute or the battery electric version of the Bronco for this market.
Managing director Annaliese Atina made the comments to EVs and Beyond at Ford’s Uncovered event in Melbourne, where the company confirmed the Bronco Basecamp range-extender SUV and Transit City electric van for New Zealand.
Asked whether she wants the Fathom, Atina says: “We need an electrified product. Yes, absolutely. So yeah, we’re open to looking at anything.”
On the chances of the Fathom reaching New Zealand, she says there is always a chance but cannot put a date on it.
“Nothing’s been ruled out at all. And I think the beauty of having a market like ours is the ability to look at business case and bring in products quickly.”
The Fathom is a mid-size, four-door electric ute that goes on sale in the United States in 2027 priced from US$28,350, making it the cheapest electric vehicle in Ford’s range there. It is the first model on Ford’s Universal EV platform and the first built using the company’s new assembly tree process at its Louisville plant in Kentucky. The entry version uses what Ford calls a standard-range 400-volt lithium iron phosphate battery with a 48-volt auxiliary electrical system, and every Fathom will have bidirectional charging for vehicle-to-load use and Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driving system. Ford has not yet released battery capacity, range, towing or payload figures. The production body will be revealed early next year, with pre-orders opening at the same time and US deliveries later in 2027. It is currently a left-hand drive product.
The Bronco Basecamp confirmed for New Zealand is a range-extender with a 49kWh usable battery and a 1.5-litre petrol generator, but the same JMC-built vehicle is sold in China as a full battery electric SUV. That version carries a 105.4kWh lithium iron phosphate pack for a claimed 650km on the CLTC cycle, with 130kW front and 202kW rear motors, an 800-volt architecture and DC charging from 10 to 80 per cent in about 25 minutes. It went on sale in China in December 2025 and is currently built for that market only.
Atina told EVs and Beyond the Basecamp and Transit City are the first China-sourced Fords to be sold outside China, and the joint venture range will continue to be assessed.
“We’ve got a very strong joint venture in China and we’ll continue to look at opportunities everywhere,” she says.
Atina says Ford is not bringing vehicles in to earn Clean Vehicle Standard credits, but acknowledges the company remains heavily weighted to petrol and diesel and that targets will get harder from 2028.
“We are still a very big ICE business,” she says. “So we have to have a balanced portfolio.”
Ford’s electric lineup in New Zealand is currently the Mustang Mach-E, E-Transit Custom and E-Transit. The Transit City joins them in January 2027 priced at $58,990 plus on-road costs, and the Bronco Basecamp, due in the second half of 2027, will be Ford’s first range-extender model here.
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