Ford Motor Company’s Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria, became the third plant to commence production of the Next-Generation Ranger for customers around the world. The start of the Next-Gen Ranger production follows a major investment of $1.05 billion in Ford’s South African operations and supplier tooling. South African-built Rangers are exported to more than 100 markets.
The expanded operations in South Africa contribute to job creation and economic development, with 1,200 new jobs added for a third shift to support the increased production volumes. This takes the workforce at Ford South Africa to 5,500 employees. Ford’s supplier network benefits too, with approximately 10,000 jobs added across the value chain.
Furthermore, the only Ford-owned and operated Frame Line in the world was built in the new Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ) supplier park adjacent to the Silverton Assembly Plant.
The investment in Struandale Engine Plant has helped Ford introduce the new 3.0L V6 Diesel engine program, comprising cylinder head machining and engine assembly. Upgrades for the Next-Gen Ranger were also implemented on the existing assembly line for the 2.0L Single Turbo and 2.0L B-Turbo diesel engines.
The ambitious targets and great confidence for the Next-Gen Ranger are built on a solid foundation established by the outgoing model in South Africa. A total of 873,751 Rangers were produced at the Silverton Assembly Plant in South Africa. Out of these, nearly 603 000 units were exported to more than 100 global markets, which consistently placed it as the top light commercial vehicle export from South Africa.
With more than 271,000 units produced for South Africa, the Ranger topped the overall domestic sales charts on many occasions and remains one of the country’s favourite vehicles. The South Africa volumes include the Ranger and trend-setting Ranger Raptor high-performance off-road pick-up, assembled in South Africa since 2019.