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- Motor group Ford is planning to spend R5.2 billion in order to manufacture the plug-in hybrid version of the Ford Ranger in Pretoria.
- The investment will see the company exporting vehicles from SA to Australia and New Zealand for the first time in two decades.
- Ford, which turned 100 in SA this year, says it will also be bringing its fully electric Mustang Mach-E to SA in 2025.
- For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.
Ford Motor Company said on Wednesday it plans to invest R5.2 billion to manufacture its new plug-in hybrid electric Ford Ranger from its Silverton Plant in Pretoria.
The move by Ford, which is celebrating its 100th birthday in SA this year, will see it producing the mid-size truck from late 2024, it has said previously.
It intends to export the vehicle to Europe, New Zealand and Australia, with the group's international operations director Andrea Cavallaro saying on Wednesday this will be the first time in about two decades that SA would be exporting vehicles to these markets.
SA is the home of Ford Ranger, exporting to 100 markets from SA. The Ranger Plug-in Hybrid will deliver more torque than any other Ranger by combining a 2.3-litre Ford EcoBoost petrol engine with an electric motor and rechargeable battery system – also enabling it to be driven in pure electric mode for a targeted driving range of more than 45km, Ford has said.
Ford will also be bringing the fully electric Mustang Mach-E to SA in 2025, which can go from 0-100km/h in 3.7 seconds, said Kay Hart, Ford's president of international markets, on Wednesday.
Elena Ford, great-granddaughter of company founder Henry Ford, added that SA is one of only four countries which have Ford manufacturing plants that are over 100 years old.
Ford had begun by assembling Model T cars in a disused wool shed in Port Elizabeth, its website reads. As of 2022, it directly employed approximately 5 500 people in SA, indirectly supporting 60 000.
Since 2009, its ongoing investment into local operations amounts to approximately R27.4 billion, making it a significant player in the country's economy and manufacturing sector.
In 2021, it had invested R15.8 billion in Silverton to produce the next-generation Ford Ranger.
