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- Ford has invested R15.8 billion in their Silverton assembly plant in Pretoria.
- Europe remains the largest export market.
- The investment relates to expanded employment opportunities through the total value chain.
Ford's Next-Gen Rangers, in left- and right-hand drive, are queuing line astern at Durban's and Gqeberha's shipping ports en route to more than 100 international destinations.
The homegrown Ranger, launched in December 2022, starts its expansive journey from the Silverton Pretoria plant, where an investment of R15.8 billion ensures the highest quality and production quantity ever recorded.
Noteworthy upgrades include a state-of-the-art stamping plant, a body shop and the only Ford-owned Frame Line in the world.
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This is echoed by another investment of R600 million in the Struandale plant in Gqeberha, home of Ford's modern Bi-Turbo and V6 engine.
"We are proud to commence with Next-Gen Ranger exports to customers around the world from our world-class manufacturing facility in South Africa," says Ockert Berry, Ford South Africa's vice president of operations.
"Having modernised the local production and increased the installed capacity to a record 200 000 units per year, we remain committed to delivering quality Next-Gen Rangers from our Silverton assembly plant and Struandale engine plant."
Europe is the largest export market, while export volume is estimated to be two-thirds of the total production volume. This makes Ford one of South Africa's highest-volume vehicle exporters and a leader in the light commercial vehicle export category.
And while the Ranger is the hero of the story, significant job creation through an additional third shift at Silverton is another favourable outcome. Another 12 00 jobs have been filled, taking Ford's total workforce to 5 500 employees.
Zooming out a little, approximately 10 000 jobs were added at supplier companies, with local manufacturing for the Next-Gen Ranger now supporting around 60 000 jobs in the total value chain.
