Sorry, folks. The arrival of the new Ford Ranger Raptor in South Africa has been pushed back to the first quarter of 2023…

Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) has confirmed the new Ranger Raptor will touch down on local soil only in the first quarter of 2023.

The rest of the latest-generation Ranger line-up will again be produced at the Blue Oval brand’s Silverton facility in Gauteng, with the local launch of these derivatives still scheduled for an as-yet unrevealed date towards the end of 2022.

However, the new high-performance Raptor (like the fresh-faced Everest) will be fully imported from Thailand, which the Dearborn-based firm says is the reason behind the delay.

“Our next-gen Ranger Raptor has ignited an even more fervent following amongst our customers, who can’t wait to get behind the wheel of this impressive machine,” said Dhiren Vanmali, Executive Sales Operations Director at FMCSA.

“With both of these vehicles [the Raptor and Everest] produced in Thailand, we are unfortunately impacted by the global supply and logistics constraints that are limiting our delivery capacity,” explained Vanmali.

“Our teams are working around the clock to accelerate the vehicle arrivals and get them to dealers and customers as soon as possible. We are confident that the next-gen Everest and Ranger Raptor will live up to expectations for the customers [who] have reserved a new vehicle.”

As a reminder, the new Raptor ditches the original model’s 157 kW/500 Nm 2.0-litre twin-turbodiesel engine in favour of a 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6, which drives all four wheels through a 10-speed automatic transmission. Peak outputs for the new EcoBoost motor stand at a whopping 292 kW and 583 Nm.

Outgoing Ranger leads export charge in September 2022

Separately, Vanmali said global demand for the outgoing version of the Ranger remained high, as illustrated by the fact the bakkie achieved its best export volume for the year in September 2022, with 9 829 units shipped to more than 100 global markets. Locally, the Ranger placed third on the list of South Africa’s best-selling bakkies for the month.

“It’s encouraging to see that global demand for the current Ranger remains high even during its run-out phase, and despite the challenges we have faced over the past two years,” he said.

“The global automotive industry remains severely constrained due to the ongoing chip shortage and the lingering disruption to shipping logistics as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, our operations have been hampered with numerous supply constraints throughout this year, and our production facilities haven’t been able to run at full capacity.

“However, the situation is improving thanks to the hard work and dedication of our purchasing, manufacturing and logistics teams as well as our supplier network, and this is reflected in our export results for September. It bodes well for the upcoming and exciting launch of our next-gen Ranger which remains on track for the end of the fourth quarter this year,” Vanmali said.

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