A new Ford Ranger bakkie is in the works and it will be built right here in South Africa at Ford’s Silverton production facility in Gauteng. Here’s what you can expect from the new Ranger!

Ford South Africa is gearing up for the local production and introduction of a new Ford Ranger but that hasn’t stopped the firm from making the most of the current Ranger. In recent months, Ford has expanded the Ranger lineup with new special edition derivatives such as the Ranger FX4, Ranger Thunder and the soon-to-be-launched Ranger Stormtrak. But that’s not all, we might even see the Ranger Splash on local soil too!

The current-generation Ford Ranger is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year and since its introduction in 2011, more than 732 000 Rangers have been produced at Ford’s Silverton production facility in Pretoria, Gauteng. More so, this month, Ford also achieved a major export milestone with the 500 000th Ranger destined for export rolling off the production line.

It goes without saying then that the Ford Ranger has proven to be hugely popular, not only locally but overseas too. Now though, Ford is gearing up for the introduction of an all-new Ranger which will also be produced locally as of 2022.

Production expansion and job creation at Silverton

Expansion at Silverton will accommodate the production of the new Ranger and create much-needed jobs.

In order to accommodate the new Ranger, major expansion plans are being rolled out at Silverton. Earlier this year, Ford announced an investment of R15.8-billion to upgrade the Silverton manufacturing plant and secure up to 10 000 new jobs in the process.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that the Ford-Volkwagen alliance will also see the all-new Volkswagen Amarok being produced locally.

This week, Ford announced that 1 200 incremental jobs had been created as a result of a third shift being added to the production schedule. The move will support expanded production of the current Ranger but it will also enable the capacity needed to produce the new forthcoming Ford Ranger.

With the additional shift, the Silverton Assembly Plant will now be able to produce up to 720 vehicles per day which equates to 1 Ranger being produced every 2 minutes. About two-thirds of locally-built Rangers are destined for export to over 100 markets worldwide.

When the Ranger arrives in 2022, production capacity will reach 200 000 units per annum which is nearly double the production of the 2011 Ranger at 111 000 units per annum.

New Ford Ranger: What to expect

The latest news regarding the new Ranger comes from Australia where 2 images and a short video showing the new Ranger undergoing testing in various offroad terrain. Ford states thatnew Ranger customers “will rejoice at the toughest, most capable and connected Ranger pickup yet developed by Ford.At its core, the next-generation Ranger will be the ideal pickup partner for work, family and play.This is not just a Built Ford Tough truck, but the smartest, most capable and most versatile Ranger yet.” Let’s hope Ford delivers on this promise!

Even though the Ranger prototype is well adorned in camouflage, the images and video reveal major changes to the Ranger’s design.

These images confirm, with reasonable certainty, that the new Ranger will adopt styling cues from the new and larger F-150 which is hugely popular in the land across the pond.

Note the squared-off LED daytime running lights that border the large headlight housings as well as the noticeably larger upright grille area and the sculpted bonnet. It’s clear then that Ford wants to the new Ranger to have distinct similarities to its bigger F-150 brother.

The F-150 offers a multitude of different grille options to customers and we wouldn’t be surprised if the new Ranger also offers different grille options to suit different tastes. At the rear, it’s interesting to note the fitment of a sports bar that looks familiar from the Ranger FX4 as well as a big bulge in the centre of the tailgate which will likely be an oversize Ford logo.

The new Ford Ranger will no doubt be a formidable offroad vehicle.

As for the interior, we expect the new Ranger to feature a new design, hopefully with higher quality materials. It’s reasonable to suggest that the new Ranger may very well adopt an upright dashboard design, much like the F-150 and we also expect to see a larger 12-inch infotainment system fitted as well as a fully digital 12-inch instrument cluster on higher-spec derivatives. In addition, we may very well see features such as Ford’s SYNC4 operating system, wireless app connect and a powerful Bang & Olufsen sound system making its way into the new Ranger.

The current Ranger is well equipped with safety and driver-assist features and Ford will likely build on this with improved 360-degree cameras and sensors that will assist the driver with tasks such as parking (Active Park Assist 2.0) or connecting a trailer (Trailer Reverse Guidance or Pro Trailer Backup Assist).

Ford has not yet divulged what engines will power the new Ranger but we reckon the relatively new 157 kW / 500 Nm 2.0-litre bi-turbocharged engine will forge on in the new Ranger but it’s likely to arrive with higher outputs. The single-turbo 2.0-litre diesel engine is also likely to power the base Ranger models. The current 3.2-litre turbodiesel engine option is likely to be discontinued.

As for the next-generation Ford Ranger Raptor, a 3.0-litre EcoBoost V6 petrol engine is on the cards boosting up to 298 kW and 563 Nm of torque. The South African market prefers diesel-powered bakkies though, so it will be interesting to see if the V6 will see the light of day here in Mzansi.

As always, we will keep you updated as the development of the new Ranger progresses, so stay tuned!

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