New Ranger will be made in South Africa for export to all over the world
Ford has decided to invest USD1 billion in the 2023 Ranger mid-size pickup. It is known that the new Ranger pickup truck will be sold in over 100 world markets.
This next generation Ford Ranger design will be inspired by the all-new F-150 pickup truck. The Ford Ranger will become a global Ford model and will feature many of the same technologies found in the next-generation German Volkswagen Amarokpickup.
Ford announced this week (Feb 2nd) that it plans to invest at least USD1.05 billion in its manufacturing facilities in South Africa. It will be the largest investment Ford has ever made in its 97-year history in South Africa. Most of the money will go towards expanding the production capacity of the local plant in preparation for the start of production of the all-new Ranger.
The next-generation Ranger, which will also form the basis for the next-gen Volkswagen Amarok, will be powered by Ford’s 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine, which also serves in the Ford F-150. This engine makes around 186kW at 3250rpm and almost 600Nm of torque which is a more than significant increase on the current-generation Ranger 2.0L four-cylinder twin-turbo-diesel’s 500Nm output.
The annual installed capacity at the Silverton plant will increase to 200,000 vehicles from 168,000, supporting production of the all-new Ford Ranger pickup truck for the domestic market and export to over 100 global markets. The plant also will manufacture Volkswagen pickups trucks as part of the Ford-VW strategic alliance.
The expanded production will help create 1,200 incremental Ford jobs in South Africa, increasing the local workforce to 5,500 employees, and adding an estimated 10,000 new jobs across Ford’s local supplier network, bringing the total to 60,000.
The overall investment includes USD686 million (R10.3 billion) for extensive upgrades to the Silverton Assembly Plant that will increase production volume and drive significant improvements in production efficiency and vehicle quality.
These include construction of a new body shop with the latest robotic technology and a new high-tech stamping plant, both of which will be located on-site for the first time. Both facilities will modernize and streamline the integrated manufacturing process at Silverton while contributing to higher quality and reducing overall cost and waste.
The new stamping plant will use a high-speed line to produce all the major sheet metal components for the new Ranger. It includes a fully automated storage and retrieval system for stamping dies, which will be housed innovatively in the roof of the facility, thus eliminating related labour-intensive processes. In addition, a modern blue-light scanner system that scans surfaces for imperfections will ensure the highest-quality final product leaves the stamping plant.
Extensive upgrades also will be made to the box line, paint shop and final assembly to improve vehicle flow within the plant, along with the expansion of the container and vehicle yards.
Ford also will build new vehicle modification and training centres – the latter developed to ensure all Ford employees are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to maximize the efficiencies of the enhanced Silverton facilities.
The production capacity of the Silverton (Africa) assembly plant is currently 168,000 vehicles per year, and after huge investments this figure will be increased to about 200,000 units. The plant will manufacture the Ranger for the local market and export it to over 100 global markets.
“Ranger is one of our highest volume, most successful global vehicles. This investment will equip our team with the tools and facilities to deliver the best Ford Ranger ever, in higher numbers and with superior quality.”
