This was only the 16th Ford assembly plant to be launched outside of North America, and provided a foundation for the establishment of the automotive industry in South Africa.
Fast-forward almost 100 years, and Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) is now producing vehicles not only for distribution to the domestic market, through the company’s network of 141 dealerships in South Africa, eSwatini, Namibia, and Botswana, but also for export to 148 left-hand drive and right-hand drive markets globally, including Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Notably, the South African-built Ranger is the top-selling pickup in Europe.
Statistics from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa show that vehicle exports for the first eight months of 2019 were more than 23 per cent higher than the corresponding period last year – a crucial driver of growth in the automotive sector and the supplier network.
The industry’s export sales for August represented the highest monthly total on record, reflecting a climb of almost 37 per cent, with 44 960 locally built vehicles shipped during the month.
Over the past decade, an injection of R11 billion by Ford has enabled upgrades to both FMCSA’s Struandale Engine Plant in Port Elizabeth, which was opened in 1964, as well as the Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria, that began operations in 1961.
Through this continued investment, production volumes at Silverton have increased by around 400 per cent since 2010. It produces the new Ranger pickup, the new Everest sports utility vehicle, and the first-ever Ranger Raptor off-road performance pickup.
With capacity to build 168 000 vehicles per year, around 720 vehicles are assembled each day – a rate of one new vehicle every 94 seconds, or about 33 an hour. More than half a million Rangers have been built here to date.
The Struandale Engine Plant has earned its stripes as both a regional centre of excellence, and cornerstone of Ford’s South African legacy.
The Port Elizabeth plant also produces 280 000 machined component kits per year, making it the only Ford facility in the world which both machines components and assembles engines for the global Ranger programme.
Ford employs around 5 500 people in South Africa, and supports a further 60 000 jobs within the value chain. SA’s seven original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) – of which Ford is one – make up three per cent of the country’s employment.
Combined corporate social investment by these OEMs is around R350 million annually, according to the Economic and Socio-Economic Impact of SA Automotive Industry Report by Econometrix.
According to the 2019 AutoTrader Car Industry Report, “attention economy” is the new currency in the South African automotive industry.
OEMs and dealers are beginning to realise that cars do not only compete with each other based on their category, but also on the basis of where consumer attention lies.
“The data showed that Ford ranked sixth in the top 10 most searched brands, with the Ranger ranking fifth in the top 10 most searched models, and the range-topping Wildtrak ranking seventh in the top 10 most searched variants,” said Conrad Groenewald, director of marketing, sales and service, FMCSA.
Growth of the automotive sector is on an upward trajectory, driven by the growth of the export business, with the Automotive Production and Development Programme aiming to increase annual production of the seven OEMs, combined, to 900 000 vehicles by 2020.
