Shifting Ford SA's expectations

Ford SA is to introduce a second shift at its Silverton, Pretoria, assembly plant to meet demand for its Ranger pick-up. MD Jeff Nemeth says: “We have an order book that is bigger than we can currently build.”

The latest Ranger is exported from SA to 148 countries. It is of concern that about one-third of exports are intended for Western Europe, which is experiencing a fifth successive year of falling new-car sales. But Nemeth says Ranger sales are holding up and that other markets can take up the slack if necessary.

Production of the new Ranger began late last year following a R3bn joint investment in Silverton and Ford’s Port Elizabeth engine plant. SA is one of three countries to build the Ranger, with Argentina and Thailand.

Silverton used to build a variety of cars and commercial vehicles. Now the only product is Ranger — and its “twin”, the limited-volume Mazda BT 50, built off the same design base and assembly lines. The plant has annual capacity to build 110000 vehicles and Nemeth says it is already working overtime to meet unexpected demand for the Ranger. “We have decided we will shortly add a second daily shift for the first time in this plant’s history,” he says.

The decision could lead to the creation of several hundred new jobs.

Ford isn’t the only one to be feeling the pressure of Ranger demand. Nemeth says its components suppliers are also taking strain. The mix of vehicles is adding to the challenge. Though most demand is for basic, single-cab pick-ups, “we are building a higher proportion of doublecabs than we expected”, says Nemeth.

The decision to concentrate on Ranger meant Ford had to stop building and selling its popular little Bantam bakkie after nearly 30 years.

With nothing available to replace it, Nemeth admits Ford is feeling the loss. “We have a big group of Ford customers who have small businesses and for whom Bantam was ideal. We are trying to help them,” he says.

One option is a small panel van — though attempts by other companies to offer such vehicles have been met with limited enthusiasm. South Africans like their bakkies.

They are not so keen on electric or hybrid vehicles; which is why Nemeth says Ford has no intention of following other multinational companies and bringing new-technology vehicles to SA in the near future.

The decision is made easier by the fact that small Ford cars available in SA already boast ultra-low emissions and excellent fuel efficiency.

Nemeth says: “Internationally Ford is a leader in electric and hybrid technologies and is launching a series of new vehicles this year. But there is no demand in SA and my job is to offer customers what they want, not what they don’t.”