We headed to Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa’s assembly facility at Silverton, Pretoria to gain insights into the production process of the new Ford Ranger, then we had a quick look inside the new Ford bakkie and drove a couple of tooling-trial units. Here’s what we discovered…
For the local motor industry, the arrival of the all-new Ford Ranger is arguably one of the biggest news stories of the year. Not only will it be built locally at Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa’s (FMCSA) plant near Pretoria and thus employ thousands of South Africans, but the facility has undergone a radical transformation over the past 2 years.
The Dearborn-based firm has invested the equivalent of R15.8 billion in the factory (which gained a new high-tech stamping plant, for example) and, by bringing some production processes in-house, the Blue Oval has unlocked efficiencies and facilitated the assembly of better-finished vehicles, FMCSA says. The overall upgrades are said to “introduce the latest tech and quality control systems, as well as redesign the production flow of the plant for maximum efficiency.”
Without going into too much detail (we don’t want to bore anyone), a LOT has been happening at Silverton – the facility is wrapping up current-shape Ranger production, while preparing to begin assembly of the new-generation Ranger and its “twin”, the Volkswagen Amarok… meanwhile, the construction of new buildings and implementation of various upgrades are being finalised. Impressively, this began during a period of uncertainty and interruptions due to the pandemic.
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It sounds like a logistical nightmare, but, as the project nears completion, Ockert Berry, VP of Operations- and Tim Day, Plant Manager at FMCSA, are positive and optimistic that full production of the brand-new Ranger will begin as planned.
In fact, once construction ends and everything comes online, FMCSA’s Silverton plant will be capable of building 200 000 Ford Rangers annually for the global market, making it the epicentre of the model’s product line. As a reminder, the SA-spec Ford Everest and new V6-powered Ford Ranger Raptor will now be sourced from Thailand.
The size and scale of the new facilities beggar belief. The stamping section alone is 1.5 times the size of a standard soccer field, at just over 10 000 square metres. The body shop? 44 000 square meters with extensive automation thanks to 493 robots. The entire complex is hooked up to more than 30 000 solar panels generating 13.5 MW of electricity.
For those who want to personalise their Rangers, Ford has also built a modification centre for the fitment of optional Ford-approved accessories. These accessories will also be thoroughly tested to ensure that OEM quality standards are met. Time will be the real test, but Ford is doing an awful lot of groundwork.
During our visit, there was extensive use of the word “quality”, but the reality is that FMCSA is well aware of public perceptions that its products aren’t as tough or long-lasting as those of other players in the segment. Ford hopes that its substantial upgrades will improve its reputation among the most finicky of bakkie buyers.
We had a first-hand viewing of the production process of some of the first new-generation Rangers. They are known as tooling-trial units – vehicles that are used to assess the effectiveness of the manufacturing process. Think of it as preparing a test pancake to ensure that your pan is at the right temperature and that your batter is ready.
Once the tooling-trial period is over and bugs in the body manufacturing and component installation processes are ironed out, pre-production can begin. At the time of writing (end of July 2022), the first pre-production units were on the assembly line. The pre-production units will undergo even more rigorous testing to ensure expectations of quality, reliability and toughness are met.
We’re still some way off from seeing brand-new Rangers on showroom floors, with current timelines suggesting an on-sale date at the end of 2022. The first production vehicle is scheduled to roll off the line at the end of October 2022.
2023 Ford Ranger in the metal
Right, so what’s the new Ranger like in the metal? Media images don’t quite do it justice and the Wildtrak, in particular, has a bold and imposing appearance – those new C-shaped daytime running lights give it considerable kerb presence.
When we climbed inside the new Ford Ranger interior, it made a good first impression, which counts for a helluva lot. It’s hard to believe that what you see here are pre-pre-production units (no, that wasn’t a stutter) – they’re unfit for public consumption. Clearly, the massive upgrades to the facility are paying dividends as, at face value, the vehicle’s cabin looks virtually showroom-ready. It marks quite a leap forward and makes the current Ranger’s cabin look and feel dated.
It was only when we started inspecting the finer details of the interior that we noticed that not everything was quite finished. The Wildtrak unit we sat in, for example, had a loose cubby door and you could see some of the interior trim wasn’t quite flush-fitting. You could also see tape where engineers had been testing for wear and tear, as well as body flex. Still, for “a first draft”, it seemed a pretty good attempt. We can’t wait to see what the customer Rangers will be like.
The highlight of the new Ranger’s interior has to be that vertically-orientated infotainment screen. Not only does it look advanced and make for a good conversation starter (it’s perhaps the first thing that you’d show off to your mates when you take them for a spin in your new Ranger), but, within a few seconds, we understood how the menu system worked and, despite the screen’s daunting size, it was straightforward to use. The good news is there are still analogue buttons too.
Other noteworthy interior touches are the one-hand door handles. Instead of the conventional two-handed operation (where one hand pulls the release lever and the other pushes the door open), you can now do that with just a single hand as the lever is integrated into the handle. And, when you close the door, it shuts with a reassuring and solid thud. Ahh.
Summary
We briefly drove manually-equipped base-spec and automatic Wildtrak derivatives of the new Ranger. While there was a limit to what we could learn from the experience, it was immediately apparent that the Ford is no longer a specced-up workhorse with a rattle-prone cabin and a jiggly ride quality – the newcomer is a more upmarket (even SUV-like) vehicle. Refinement and quality levels have improved markedly; we noticed low wind noise and very little NVH in the bakkies.
At this stage, we have no confirmation of the range’s engines and trim levels, but we don’t expect the local lineup to be radically different. The basic range will offer single- and bi-turbo 2.0-litre and 3.0-litre V6 diesel engines in combination with manual gearboxes and automatic transmissions in single-, supercab and double-cab guises. We also expect the XL, XLT and Wildtrak trim lines to be carried over.
Mark your calendars – the Ranger, Ranger Raptor and Everest will be in South Africa before the end of the year.
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