Ford is planning a right-hand-drive variant of the Ford Mustang when the sports car is redesigned for its 50th anniversary next year, according to an Australian newspaper report this week.

The right-hand-drive version will be marketed for the first time in the United Kingdom, Australia and other countries, the Herald Sun in Melbourne, Australia, reported on July 14.

Since the right-hand-drive model is expected to account for less than 10 percent of global Mustang sales, Ford is eager to sell it in as many countries as possible to counter additional engineering costs associated with making it, the newspaper reported.

The United Kingdom is expected to become the largest market for the right-hand-drive model, with Australia No. 2, the newspaper reported.

Jim Farley, Ford’s executive vice president of global marketing, sales and service, plans to fly to Australia on Aug. 13 to unveil plans for a right-hand-drive Mustang, the newspaper reported.

The 2015 Mustang is expected to be introduced at the 2014 New York auto show, the newspaper reported.

A Ford spokesman declined to comment on the report, saying Ford does not publicly discuss future product plans.

Ford Australia would not confirm the report but confidential sources confirmed to News Corp. Australia that “Mustang is a goer,” according to the Herald Sun.

The Mustang will replace the Falcon as Ford’s performance vehicle in Australia, where Ford plans to close car and engine plants, ending decades of manufacturing in the country, the newspaper reported.

Ford Australia plans to market only V-8 performance models of the next Mustang, but some countries will receive a four-cylinder version of the redesigned car, according to the Herald Sun.

A small number of Mustangs were converted from left- to right-hand drive for Australia between 2001 and 2003, but it has been almost 50 years since the automaker imported a dedicated right-hand-drive Mustang to Australia, the newspaper reported.

The imported Mustang’s high price — about $90,000 — and competition with the Holden Monaro produced fewer than 400 sales, the newspaper reported.

The right-hand-drive Mustang will have a starting price close to $50,000, the newspaper reported.

Insiders familiar with Ford’s thinking speculate that the new Mustang will have independent rear suspension to make it drive more like a global sports car, Automotive News has reported. Every Mustang since its launch in 1964 — except for some specialized sporty versions — has been equipped with a solid rear axle.

U.S. sales of the Mustang dropped 10 percent in June to 9,243 units, and fell 11 percent in the first six months of the year to 43,111 units.