Ford’s R5.2-billion problem in South Africa

Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) has only shipped a few hundred examples of the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Ranger since it went into production at the end of 2024.

The PHEV bakkie is manufactured at Ford’s Silverton plant in Pretoria and is not sold locally, as it is strictly produced for export to markets in Europe and Australia.

The automaker recently announced that it was retrenching 470 workers at its South African operations at the Silverton factory and its Struandale plant in Gqeberha.

Ford explained that the decision was due to a decline in demand for its vehicles in key export markets.

One recent move that has negatively impacted FMCSA is that the United Kingdom adjusted its vehicle categories to classify double-cab pickups as passenger cars instead of light commercial ones, leading to increased taxes and higher prices for consumers.

With that in mind, Ford is still exporting thousands of units per month, as the National Automobile Association of South Africa’s (Naamsa’s) latest reports show that the company shipped 66,284 units by the end of August 2025.

That works out to 6,048 units per month, which is better than what FMCSA reported last year.

In 2024, the automaker exported 66,284 vehicles, or 5,524 per month, indicating that the brand has actually achieved steady growth so far this year.

The main issue appears to be the sales of the new PHEV Ranger, which was commissioned specifically for developed markets where there is a high demand for new-energy vehicles like hybrids and electric cars, hence why it is not currently sold locally.

Ford spent R5.2 billion upgrading Silverton to accommodate the new PHEV, which officially went into production in December 2024.

Naamsa’s data shows that Ford has only exported 385 plug-in hybrid vehicles since December. The Ranger is the only PHEV it produces.

Stiff competition

The PHEV Ranger’s slow uptake isn’t solely the result of the UK’s changing tax policies, as the model has received mixed reviews in multiple regions, including the European Union, Australia, and New Zealand.

It has generally been criticized for its high price and relatively limited feature set, especially when compared to new options coming out of China.

In Australia and New Zealand, legacy brands like Ford and Toyota are starting to face fierce competition from Chinese rivals like BYD and GWM, which have rapidly gained popularity thanks to their value-for-money perception.

The BYD Shark, which is a plug-in hybrid just like the Ranger, has proven to be an enormous hit in the Land Down Under, selling over 12,000 units since launch.

GWM also offers its own PHEV bakkie in the Cannon Alpha, which sold 269 units in its first month in Australia.

Assuming it keeps up that momentum over the following months, GWM will have already sold more units than the plug-in Ranger.

If you compare the specs of these three vehicles, it’s not hard to see why the Chinese models are seeing greater interest from consumers: