In the lead-up to next year’s launch of the next-generation Ford Ranger, Ford South Africa has hosted a high-level delegation in an oversight visit at its Silverton assembly plant and the adjacent Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ).

The visit followed the announcement in February this year of Ford Motor Company’s $1.05-billion investment in its Pretoria plant and supplier facilities to modernise its local operations and to expand installed production capacity to 200 000 vehicles a year.

“It is my honour to join you at our Silverton assembly plant, a location that truly flies the Ford flag high,” said Ford International Markets Group (IMG) president Dianne Craig.

“In February, [we] announced our $1.05-billion investment in South Africa alongside President Cyril Ramaphosa, and it is amazing to have witnessed exactly where and how the investment has been utilised. 

“Silverton is one of five Ford facilities around the world that assemble our segment-defining Ranger pick-up, along with two plants in Thailand, and one each in Argentina and the US. 

“On November 24, we will reveal the next-generation Ranger, which is scheduled to start build next year right here at our Silverton plant. It will be sold in South Africa and exported to over 100 global markets, including the entire African continent,” added Craig.

“So this investment is a big deal for Ford Motor Company, as it is for South Africa, as we work towards delivering a world-class product with the highest levels of quality for our customers.

“We truly appreciate and value our partnership with national, provincial and local government which helped make this investment possible. It is impacting communities with 1 200 incremental new jobs at Ford, and an additional 10 000 jobs in the total value chain. So it is changing lives for South Africans, not just in the years ahead, but for decades to come.”

“It is amazing to see how much has been achieved within the Ford Silverton assembly plant and the TASEZ in such a short period,” noted Ford IMG operations director Andrea Cavallaro.

“Ockert Berry and his team at Ford South Africa have totally transformed the Silverton plant, and it’s unrecognisable from just six months ago. Modernising this plant is a crucial step in ensuring that it is comparable with the best Ford plants in the world, and will deliver the highest levels of quality, and at the required volumes to meet the significant demand from around the world.

“I would also like to commend Simphiwe Hamilton and his TASEZ team, who have pulled out all the stops to deliver on the targets, despite the immense challenges posed by Covid-19,” he added.

“In February last year the TASEZ site was an open field, and now we have two suppliers already manufacturing parts and delivering them directly to the Silverton assembly line, with several others soon to follow.”

Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister Fikile Majola noted that Ford’s decision to invest in South Africa was “very important” to government, as it supported thousands of jobs in the local communities. 

“Our partnership with Ford in the TASEZ is one of our great success stories, as it serves as an example of what government working with the private sector can do. 

“It is now up to government to meet Ford’s deadline when they reach full production to be able to move the vehicles efficiently to the ports via the rail corridors so that we can export these vehicles around the world.”