In May 2017, the Ford Ranger was the best-selling bakkie in South Africa (with 2 875 units sold), enough to make it the top-selling vehicle overall for the month, too. And this strong performance furthermore saw the locally built bakkie assume the lead of the sales race year-to-date.
In the first five months of 2017, according to our maths, the Ranger has sold 13 681 units, with the Toyota Hilux a mere 15 units behind on 13 666. The Volkswagen Polo Vivo has managed 11 948 units, while the regular Polo weighed in with 10 150 units.
Ford Motor Company of SA says the Ranger was also one of the country’s top exports for May, with 4 432 vehicles sent to customers in Europe, the Middle East and the rest of Africa.
“The South African economy is clearly under pressure at the moment, and this is reflected in the reduced levels of purchasing activity in the new vehicle industry,” said Neale Hill, director of marketing, sales and service in the sub-Saharan Africa region.
“However, we are buoyed by the continued strong demand for the Ford Ranger, which is once again the best-selling vehicle overall in South Africa. It vindicates the massive investment Ford has made into its local manufacturing operations, and the work that has been done to ensure that the Ranger line-up is not only competitive, but sets the benchmark for the industry,” said Hill.
With overall industry sales down, Ford said that dealer profitability “remained essential for the survival of any brand”.
“It’s encouraging to note that Ford achieved 92,7% of its sales through the dealer channel, which is well above the total industry average of 90,2%,” Hill said.
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