Ford Ranger Sets New Record for Exports in South Africa
Ford Motor Company of South Africa set a new record in August for export of the Ranger pickup truck.
The Ranger, which Ford builds at its Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria, saw exports totaling 8,548 units in August. The South Africa-built Ranger is sold in markets located in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
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In South Africa, it stood as the second-best-selling pickup in its segment with a total of 2,237 units sold. Ford recently launched an expanded Ranger lineup that includes models equipped with the new 2.2-liter Duratorq TDCi diesel engines.
In all, Ford SA’s sales in-country totaled 5,473 vehicles, resulting in a 0.3 percentage-point growth in its year-to-date market share. Ford’s share for August was 13.2%, and stands at 14.7% for the year.
Passenger car sales for the entire South African car industry were down 13.1% at 30,356 units, light commercial vehicle sales were down 1% at 13,542 units, and overall sales were down 9.5% at a total of 46,146 units.
“The new car market remains under pressure, and this is reflected in the general trend of significantly lower vehicle sales compared to 2015,” said Neale Hill, Ford Director of Marketing, Sales and Service for the Sub-Sahara Africa Region. “However, Ford continues to buck the trend by growing our market share and registering continued high demand for several models, including the Ranger, EcoSport, and Fiesta.”
Sales of the EcoSport totaled 1,033 units in August, and sales of the Fiesta totaled 1,069 units.
“Ford once again emerged as the second best-selling brand through the dealer channel, which is a strong indicator of consumer confidence in our products, services and value proposition,” Hill said.
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