Fleet of aging French Army off-road vehicles soon to be Ford Ranger pickups
Ford Europe has just made a fleet sale of a 1,000 Ford Rangers to patrol the French motherland, replacing 32-year-old Peugeot P4 jeeps according to a story in the International Section of the New York Times.
Ford won the contract because the new diesel Ranger pickups, which are offered in the global market, have more payload and passenger-carrying capacity than either the PSA Peugeot Citroen’s Berlingo minivan or Renault’s Dacia Duster, a crossover SUV.
The French car makers say Ford didn’t really win a contest:
Maya Vautier, a Renault spokeswoman, said in the Time’s article that “Ford did not really beat its French rivals since they do not make such large off-road vehicles. Renault does not even make a pickup currently, she said, but it plans to begin doing so in the second half of this year.”
Peugeot declined to comment. Michael Baumann, a spokesman for Ford Europe, said the company was “unfortunately not in a position to comment.”
