Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) has started production of the Everest sports utility vehicle (SUV) at its Silverton plant, in Pretoria.

The introduction of the Everest to the assembly line means the Ford plant becomes a two-vehicle assembly facility. The plant currently produces the Ranger pick-up for export to 148 markets in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

“The start of local production for the Ford Everest is another major milestone for FMCSA’s manufacturing division,” FMCSA operations VP Ockert Berry says. “We are confident that the locally produced Ford Everest will deliver outstanding results for us, our employees and, most importantly, our customers.”

The Everest will be produced for the South African market and exported to countries across sub-Saharan Africa.

The addition of the SUV to the Silverton plant follows a combined R2.5-billion investment in Ford’s local operations for the Everest and Ranger production programmes, creating around 1 200 new jobs at FMCSA and its supplier network.

“The Ford Everest has been a very popular addition to our local line-up, but, thus far, has only been available in the two high-specification 4  4 models that were fully imported from Thailand,” says FMCSA general marketing manager Tracey Delate.

“Local production has now enabled us to expand the offering with an additional six model derivatives, two engine choices, three trim levels and the option of manual and automatic transmissions, as well as two- and four-wheel-drive versions.”

The SUV will be fitted with diesel engines built at Ford’s Struandale engine plant, in Port Elizabeth.

Everest production capacity at the plant will be around 10 000 units a year.

Total plant capacity is 110 000 units.

The Silverton facility joins AutoAlliance Thailand, in Rayong; Ford’s Chennai plant, in India (where it is sold as the Endeavor); and the JMC Xiaolan plant, in Nanchang, China, as production hubs for the Everest.