First New Ford Ranger Trucks Ship from Port Elizabeth
A batch of 1,000 new Ford Ranger trucks shipped out from Port Elizabeth in South Africa this month, marking the start of exports to markets in Europe. To meet demand for the midsize truck, Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa expanded exports to Port Elizabeth to complement exports from Durban Harbor’s Roll On Roll Off Terminal.
“We are experiencing unprecedented demand for the Ford Ranger around the world and have invested over R3-billion (approximately USD$209 million) in the recent expansion of our production capacity in our South African operations to fulfil these orders,” said Ford Middle East and Africa Vice President of Operations Ockert Berry. “Together with Transnet, we evaluated how a multi-port strategy could benefit both parties by improving the use of current assets, reducing costs, avoiding the ongoing congestion in the Durban Terminal, and utilizing other ports for imports and exports.”
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The new Ford Ranger is built at the Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria and shipped to Port Elizabeth via Transnet Freight Rail. Rather than send back empty cars to Gauteng, Ford will move Ranger trucks to the port on the return leg of train transport in an effort to improve cost efficiency and facilitate faster exports. The Ford Ranger was the most-exported light commercial vehicle in South Africa in 2018.
The initial shipment include the Ford Ranger Raptor, the first-of-its kind performance truck that debuted in 2018. The new Ford Ranger is available with three engine options: the 2.0-liter EcoBlue Single Turbo engine, the 2.2-liter Duratorq TDCi, and the 3.2-liter Duratorq TDCi. It is available with optional first-in-class features including Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection and Active Park Assist.
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