Hi Chris,
With the way that the car situation is now, you wouldn’t get a confirmed date until a good few months after the order is placed with the factory.
i.e I ordered a Kuga Sept 21 and my order status remained ‘confirmed with no predicted build date’ until January 22, when I was informed by my dealer to say the status changed to include a build date of the end of Jan 22 and a VIN number.
In that space of time between Sept and Jan, nothing had changed but I received emails from my dealer every month or so to confirm that. I would ask for regular updates (maybe every fortnight after the first couple months) to keep you in the loop.