With global demand for the Ranger, Ranger Raptor and Everest increasing, Ford South Africa has finalised a comprehensive expansion (announced in 2017 as a R3-billion venture) of both its Silverton vehicle assembly plant in Pretoria and the Struandale engine plant in Port Elizabeth.

With these upgrades, Ford South Africa will aim to produce 168 000 Rangers and Everests per year, up from 44 000 before the expansion and 58 000 since 2011.

“Our Ranger programme has been extremely successful, and we produced our 500 000th unit in August last year,” says Neale Hill, MD of Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. “The global demand for the Ranger continues to grow, and the R3-billion additional investment into our local operations has enabled us to prepare for an even more exciting and dynamic period ahead,”

Currently more than 400 vehicles are assembled at Silverton on a daily basis, with a new Ranger or Everest rolling off the line at a rate of one every 94 seconds. Two thirds of these cars are destined for export markets.

“The excitement surrounding the first-ever Ranger Raptor is sure to further bolster our challenge in the LCV market, as the capabilities of this specially developed Ford Performance model are truly astonishing. There’s simply nothing else like it, at any price, and we believe that we have a winner as a halo model and an image-builder for the Ranger brand as a whole.” Hill adds.

Original article from Car