Steep mountain passes, deep snow, heavy trailers: The Ford Ranger Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) ¹ is currently proving its worth under the toughest conditions — as a test vehicle for the Bavarian Mountain Rescue Service in Germany.

The volunteer mountain rescuers are primarily using the Ranger PHEV for transporting equipment and for rescue training exercises during their six-month trial. With the mix of winter months and off-road conditions, they are already finding the Ranger's power useful.

The electric boost helps deliver up to 697 Nm of torque ², which is the highest in the entire Ranger family, with no compromise in off-road capability, traction or towing capacity ³. Yet the plug-in technology also enables purely electric driving for up to 43 kilometers allowing for quiet gliding on snowy forest tracks

“There’s also no compromise in off-road capability, traction, or towing capacity.”

Claudi Vogt, director, Ford Pro across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

So, when it comes to towing, the Ranger PHEV can effortlessly pull a trailer with their All Terrain Vehicle through steep, snow-covered mountain passes to the rescue exercise site. And there's still plenty of space and payload capacity for transporting their additional equipment.

Tobias Vogl, managing director of the Bavarian Mountain Rescue Service, told me the Ranger PHEV is already impressing with its power when towing a trailer, and also the fact it can also serve as a mobile power source in the field. The Pro Power Onboard ⁴system, with two sockets in the cargo area, is being used for charging cordless drills, among other things. These drills are used to create crucial anchor points for ropes in the rock face during tricky rescues, so knowing they don’t have to worry about charging sources is a real bonus.

The Mountain Rescue Service is also benefiting from the expertise of our conversion partners during this testing phase. In consultation with the mountain rescue team, we fitted the Ranger PHEV's cargo bed with a hardtop, including a pull-out drawer and plastic boxes for quick and easy storage of equipment⁵. After all, every second counts in a rescue operation.

For us, such practical tests are essential to understand our customers’ needs and to prove the performance of our vehicles, even under extreme conditions. After all, I’m sure any vehicle that can perform in Alpine rescue operations is ready for any challenge in commercial use. This is especially true when including our conversion partners, allowing us to tailor-make commercial vehicles for virtually any application. I think this test with the mountain rescue service impressively demonstrates this.

Claudia Vogt is responsible for Ford Pro across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

¹Ford Ranger Plug-In Hybrid homologated CO₂ emissions 143-145 g/km WLTP Euro 6e-bis (UK: 70-72 g/km Euro 6e), homologated fuel efficiency 6.2-6.4 l/100 km WLTP Euro 6e-bis (UK: 3.1-3.2 l/100 km Euro 6e) and pure electric driving range up to 43 km WLTP. The declared WLTP fuel/energy consumptions, CO₂ emissions and electric range are determined according to the technical requirements and specifications of the European Regulations (EC) 715/2007 and (EU) 2017/1151 as last amended. The applied standard test procedures enable comparison between different vehicle types and different manufacturers. A range of up to 43 km can be achieved with a fully charged battery - depending on the existing series and battery configuration. The actual range may vary due to various factors (e.g. weather conditions, driving style, route profile, vehicle condition, age and condition of the lithium-ion battery)

² Horsepower and torque are independent attributes and may not be achieved simultaneously

³ When properly equipped. Max towing varies based on cargo, vehicle configuration, accessories and number of passengers

⁴ See Owner’s Manual for important operating instructions

⁵ Max payload varies and is based on accessories and vehicle configuration. See label on doorjamb for carrying capacity of a specific vehicle. Always properly secure cargo