Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa says it was the country’s “top vehicle exporter” for September 2020, with a total of 6 995 units leaving our shores during the month.

This represents an increase of 11,3 percent compared with August 2020 and is the Blue Oval brand’s highest export volume for the year thus far. Some 6 986 export units were in the form of the Ranger bakkie, with the remaining nine accounted for by the likewise locally built Everest.

The Volkswagen Polo was next on 6 344 units, with the Mercedes-Benz C-Class seemingly in third on an estimated 6 100 units, the BMZ X3 in fourth on 4 773 units and the Toyota Hilux in fifth on 3 659 units.

“It’s encouraging to see markets finally recovering to the volumes that were typical pre-COVID-19,” said Neale Hill, managing director of Ford SA.

“The already strained economic climate prior to the coronavirus lockdown pales in comparison to the devastating financial impact over the past six months, but the domestic and international markets have shown remarkable resilience and we expect this trend to continue for the remainder of this year.

“Our total domestic and export sales of 9 174 Ford Rangers in September is our best result for the year. It reaffirms the confidence that local and international customers continue to have in our locally produced Ranger, and further entrenches the significant role we play in the local economy and the large number of direct and indirect jobs we support.”

As a reminder, the Ranger and Everest are produced at Ford’s Silverton assembly plant in Pretoria, with engines assembled at the Struandale engine plant in Port Elizabeth.

 

Original article from Car