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Ford Ranger Raptor assembly line
- The automaker Ford will invest 15.8 billion rand in South Africa.
- Most of the investment will go towards upgrading Silverton’s assembly plant in Tshwane.
- The investment is also intended to create new jobs and improve workers’ skills.
Automaker Ford will invest R15.8 billion in South Africa, the most significant investment in its 97-year history in the country, said Andrea Cavallaro, chief operating officer of Ford International Markets Group.
The international automobile company made the announcement Tuesday in the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone, following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to the site.
Ford has a Silverton plant in Tshwane, which is one of only five plants worldwide that assemble the Ranger model; the others are Argentina, the United States and two plants in Thailand, Cavallaro said.
“Ford Motors South Africa produces Rangers for domestic sale and export to more than 100 global markets; this includes the entire African continent, the Middle East, Mexico and Europe.”
The majority, or R10.3 billion of the R15.8 billion investment, will go to extensive improvements at the Silverton assembly plant. Cavallaro said the investment would also create an additional 1,200 jobs for Ford in South Africa. It will increase the number of employees at the Silverton plant to 5,500 and add 10,000 new jobs at local supply positions.
The investment shows confidence in SA
Ramaphosa said Ford’s decision to invest in South Africa demonstrated its confidence in the country as an investment destination.
He also said that the development presents an opportunity for the country to use its “comparative” and “competitive” advantage to industrialize further, and that SA has many advantages that must be capitalized on to help strengthen the manufacturing base and improve export capacity.
“We will be exporting to about 150 countries, it is a phenomenal feat to achieve and we are already doing it.” Ramaphosa said the investment will not only create employment, but will contribute to skills development.
The president said Ford should stay in the country for another 100 years as it helps position the country in global and regional value chains.
Since the start of the Special Economic Zone program in 2014, it has attracted private investments worth R18.6 billion from 136 operating companies, Ramaphosa said. Currently 99 additional investment expressions of interest are being considered.
The R15.8 billion investment is 1.3% of the total R1.2 billion investment, which Ramaphosa set out to achieve in five years, according to the Minister of Trade and Industry Competition, Ebrahim Patel, who was also at the session. informative.
SA is the largest automobile assembler on the continent
Patel noted that SA produced 627,000 vehicles in 2019. Last year, which was possibly the most difficult in the industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the industry produced 70% of its normal production.
South Africa is the largest car assembler on the continent, Patel added. About five billion automotive components are sourced annually from local and global suppliers and ultimately assembled in South Africa by all original equipment manufacturers, Patel said. If all South African-made vehicles were lined up, they would cover the entire coastline of the country, Patel said.
READ | Braking Bad: New Car Sales Could Take 3 Years to Recover to Pre-Covid-19 Levels
Hovever, new vehicle sales remain subdued, with domestic sales falling in January of 13.9% compared to previous years.
The South African National Automobile Manufacturers Association expects that a full recovery of new vehicle sales to pre-Covid-19 levels could take three years.
