The best bakkies in the world are both built in South Africa

The South African-made sixth-generation Ford Ranger and second-generation VW Amarok have been voted as the joint winners of the International Pick-up Awards (IPUA).

While both bakkies have won the accolade two times before – the Ranger in 2013 and 2020, and the Amarok in 2011 and 2018 – this time around the trophy was shared between the two brands and models, giving them both a hat-trick of IPUA victories.

This is also the first time two vehicles have shared the honour since the IPUA was established in 2010.

“Following the IPUA 2023 Group Tests, held in Greece last month, it was impossible to separate the two models from each other, as both the new Ranger and Amarok were co-developed and are made at the Ford factory in South Africa,” said Jarlath Sweeney, chairman of the IPUA jury.

“Although a collaboration project, each manufacturer has managed to maintain their unique styling and driving traits, which customers will testify.”

A local success story

In preparation for building the new Ranger and Amarok, Ford invested a massive R15.8 billion into its local facilities in 2021 split between its assembly plant in Silverton, Gauteng, engine factory in Struandale, Eastern Cape, and a number of suppliers across the country.

Of the total investment, R10.3 billion was earmarked for extensive upgrades to the Silverton facility that increased production from approximately 168,000 to 200,000 units per year, while simultaneously improving vehicle quality.

A further R5.5 billion went into upgrading tooling at its major supplier factories and relocating them into the adjacent Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in order to cut down on transport time and costs.

Only recently completing the last of these tasks, Ford is already bearing the fruit of its labour.

Earlier this year, the automaker shared the knowledge that through these extensive upgrades, it has achieved an 80% improvement in overall quality from the old to the new Ranger, which the Amarok also benefits from.

The Silverton factory’s First Time Through (FTT) score, which is the percentage of units that make it through production the first time without being flagged for a potential defect, has already improved by 50% for the new-gen bakkies, and Ford said it is “very close” to achieving an average FTT of 96%.

The launch repair spike, which is a “spike” in repairs that usually comes after an all-new product is introduced to the market, was also 60% better than for the new than the old Ranger.

Ford has further been able to cut down the number of manicurists, who are responsible for performing the final touchups before the bakkie exits the factory, from 16 to just two.

On top of this, parts traceability in the new high-tech Silverton facility is nearly at 100%, whereas it was previously so low that Ford didn’t want to provide an actual figure, making it easier to track potential manufacturing defects, and who or what could’ve been responsible for them, all the way back to the first unit that rolled through the doors.

2025 Ford Ranger plug-in hybrid

Celebrating its 100th anniversary on South African soil, the Blue Oval recently announced another R5.2-billion cash injection for its Silverton location in preparation for building the first-ever Ranger plug-in hybrid.

The sizeable sum has gone into building a new battery pack assembly plant that is being constructed within the Silverton factory grounds, while the chassis plant in the SEZ is also being upgraded to accommodate the unique chassis configuration for this model, including advancements to the robots, welding equipment, control systems, conveyors, and skids.

Furthermore, the vehicle assembly operations are being adapted to accommodate the electrically-incentivised Ford, specifically the trim, chassis, and final (TCF) line, which will involve changes to the handling equipment, turnover fixtures, charging systems, leak detection and testing equipment, as well as a new repair area.

Finally, the paint shop is being revamped to further improve paint quality and FTT rating for all vehicles Ford produces in South Africa.