Name of the Project
Ford production expansion.

Location
Silverton, Gauteng, South Africa.

Client
Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA).

Project Description
Ford is expanding production capacity at its South African manufacturing operations to meet growing local and international demand for the Ford Ranger.

The focus of the investment will be on increasing Ranger capacity to cater for growing demand from local and export markets, a further improvement in quality and increased automisation, as well as allowing for the production of the Ranger Raptor, which will enter the South African market in 2019.

The Silverton plant currently has a 100 000-unit-a-year capacity, but the investment will result in capacity increasing to 167 000 units a year.

Potential Job Creation
Employment is set to increase through the capacity expansion, although the number of people to be added to the Silverton payroll has not been quantified.

Value
The project forms part of a wide-ranging, R3-billion investment in FMCSA's two South African plants, announced in 2017.

Duration
The Ford Ranger Raptor will be assembled in South Africa from 2019.

Latest Developments
Ford’s Silverton vehicle assembly plant in Pretoria has started production of the refreshed 2019 Ford Ranger.

“The 2019 Ford Ranger will deliver more power, greater fuel efficiency, enhanced refinement and even more advanced technologies when it goes on sale in the coming months . . . we are confident it will once again set the benchmark in the extremely competitive pickup segment,” Ford Motor Company sub-Saharan Africa region MD Neale Hill has said.

Selected range-topping models, including the Ranger Raptor, will be powered by the all-new 2.0 bi-turbo diesel engine assembled at the spruced-up Ford Struandale engine plant, in Port Elizabeth.

This unit produces 157 kW of power and 500 Nm of torque – up by 10 kW and 30 Nm compared with the current 3.2-l TDCi engine.

It also delivers an improvement in fuel efficiency up to 9% when combined with a new ten-speed automatic transmission.

Other derivatives will feature a 2.0 ℓ single turbo version of this engine, producing 132 kW of power and 420 Nm of torque, mated to the same ten-speed transmission.

Various other models in the line-up will retain the current 2.2 ℓ and 3.2 ℓ Duratorq TDCi engines and existing gearbox options.

The new Ranger line-up includes single-cab, supercab and double-cab body styles.

Following the launch of the new Ford Ranger models, attention will shift to the locally assembled Ranger Raptor, which Ford believes will create a new segment in the pickup market.

Some of the defining features of the Ranger Raptor include position sensitive damping shock absorbers and an advanced terrain management system that includes a Baja mode for fast off-road driving.

The vehicle will also sport a toughened reinforced chassis, all-disc braking system and specially developed BF Goodrich tyres.
 
Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
FMCSA, Alisea Chetty, tel +27 12 842 2707 or email achetty2@ford.com.