After the production of 873 751 units, the 11th of November signalled the last outgoing Ford Ranger to be produced at the Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria. What’s next? The new generation of Blue Oval bakkie of course!
The Ranger has dominated local news for several months now and with a vested interest in South African production and economic growth but now, the model has officially been put to rest as the last outgoing Ford Ranger has rolled off of the production line.
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Of the 873 751 units produced, more than 271 000 of the model have found homes with South Africans while the remainder has been exported to all corners of the world, making it one of Mzansi’s most popular exports in its lifespan.
“We shipped nearly 603 000 current-generation Rangers to customers around the world, which has consistently positioned the Ranger as South Africa’s leading light commercial vehicle export,” says Tim Day, Plant Manager of the Silverton Assembly Plant. “This is a significant achievement for our local operations, our employees and our suppliers as an integral part of Ford’s global manufacturing network.”
Ranger production predates 2009 when Ford invested R3,4 billion in Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant and the Struandale Engine Plant in Gqeberha to supply the domestic market and more than 100 global markets. The model officially started production in 2011 and the outgoing model has “been a huge success in South Africa and internationally, having completely redefined the pick-up segment when it was launched in 2011 and it continued to set benchmarks,” says Ockert Berry, VP Operations at Ford South Africa.
By 2018, the total investment in South Africa for the Ranger program had increased to R11 billion. This facilitated extensive upgrades, the implementation of new technologies and the capacity of the Silverton plant being expanded in 2016 and again two years later to serve the strong local and international demand for the Ranger. Three years later, the first-ever Ranger Raptor would be ushered into the world with production of the bespoke model occurring in the Pretoria facility too.
This trend of investment has continued with both facilities receiving massive injections to foster the production of the next-generation Ranger. In 2021, Ford announced the largest single investment in the South African automotive industry of US$1 billion (R15,8 billion) for the successor of the Last outgoing Ford Ranger. The expanded and modernized facilities sustained production of the outgoing Ranger over the past year while ramping up the installed capacity of the Silverton plant, which is now capable of producing 200 000 vehicles per year and has availed several thousand jobs to locals in the process.
“This brings Ford’s total investment in South Africa to more than R27 billion over the past 13 years, which signifies our unequivocal commitment to the country, and our dedication to providing must-have products for our customers around the world,” Berry adds. “It has also given us the platform to promote economic development and create much-needed job opportunities. We are extremely proud to support 5 500 jobs at Ford South Africa and around 60 000 jobs in the supply chain, while contributing more than 1-percent to South Africa’s total GDP.”
Watch Tim Day, Plant Manager at Silverton Assembly Plant in the embedded video below.
