US car maker Ford’s decision on where to produce the next-generation Ranger pickup “is imminent”, says Ford Middle East and Africa president Jacques Brent.

South Africa is currently one of three global production sites for the Ranger.

The contract to produce and export the current Ranger saw the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) increase production at the Silverton plant, in Pretoria, from about 28 000 vehicles a year in 2011, to 100 000 vehicles in 2017.

Production capacity will increase to 124 000 units this year, following a further R3-billion investment announced by the US car maker in November.

Around 65% of Ranger production is exported. The pickup is exported to 148 countries, including in Europe, where it is the number one selling pickup.

FMCSA also builds and exports the Everest sports-utility vehicle to the sub-Saharan African market.

Brent tells Engineering News Online that the launch of the next generation Ranger is “still a few years out”, but that the decision on where to build the vehicle has to be made soon.

He adds that it is not a question of whether the next-generation Ranger will be built in South Africa, but rather what the production volume would be.

He says production volume will depend on the content of government’s proposed new support programme for the South African automotive industry, the Automotive Masterplan, set to replace the current Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP), in 2021.

“Are we taking the new programme into account? The answer is yes,” says Brent.

“It will not play a role in whether we do it, that is a foregone conclusion. I think it will make a difference in whether we do X volume or Y volume.”

Brent says South Africa’s vehicle production industry varies from those manufacturers that are heavily focused in exports, to those which are focused on the domestic market.

“We fall in the middle of the existing policy [APDP]. While the existing policy has more export bias, the proposals for the new programme, as I understand it, have a more local bias.

“I think the compromise is somewhere in the middle, which would suit us, looking at the nature of our business. But yes, obviously the volume growth we have coming is on the export side of our business.”

Brent says Ford remains positive on the support provided by South African government to the domestic automotive industry.

He adds that the Ranger has the potential to increase sales significantly – up to 30% globally – with the next-generation Ranger to exceed this number.