Pony rides this year

The

countdown is finally underway to the first Australian deliveries of the 21st century Ford Mustang.

They should be in their owners’ hands in November, later than first expected but still in time for early Christmas gifts.

More than 1200 people have already ordered a Mustang and Ford Australia reports more than 15,000 ‘expressions of interest’ for the car. To cope with demand it has created a special website – which is only open to dealers – for orders.

The starting price is still to be confirmed but a four-cylinder EcoBoost Mustang should be around $50,000, slightly undercutting the current XR8.

Ford Australia is already lobbying for extra cars from the factory at Flat Rock in Michigan as right-hand drive production begins for the first time.

“The Mustang is drawing people to Ford well in advance of its arrival, and we’ve reacted quickly to find a way to communicate with these new potential owners,” said Bob Graziano, CEO of Ford Australia.

“With more and more customers coming forward each week, this new pre-ordering system will allow us to plan and cater to their specific requests from the outset.”

The Mustang news comes as Ford ramps up production of the XR8, after under-calling demand for the sign-off sports sedan and deciding against an XR8 ute.

Even so, Ford Australia’s sales in 2014 slumped to a 48-year low as sagging demand for the Falcon also impacted on the rest of the range. It only delivered 79,703 cars in the worst result since 1966, but took some comfort in Holden’s score for 2014 which was the company’s worst for 21 years.