The F-Series may be the undisputed king of the Blue Oval's pickup truck family, but that doesn’t mean the Ranger sibling isn’t getting an equal amount of business love. After all, with the fourteenth generation 2021 F-150 finally out and about across U.S. dealerships, the company now diligently prepares for the arrival of the equally all-new, seventh generation Ranger.
We have seen the F-Series keep its top place in U.S. sales charts and we have also discussed about the European commercial success of the Ranger brethren. And even though we’re probably going to dissect the latter’s official introduction sooner rather than later, Ford continues to improve upon its midsize truck recipe with just about every possible occasion.
At home in the United States, we have already seen the 2021 Ranger XL turn into a more elegant workhorse with the STX Package. Across the Atlantic, European fans have been graced with Beauty and the Beast appearances last year – with the Ranger showcased as either the racy MS-RT version or in bare-bones Chassis Cab attire.
Now it’s time to focus on the upcoming new generation, the 2023 Ranger, without even so much as seeing a little teaser for the upcoming model in the latest press release from the company. Instead, the Blue Oval is all business and no fun as it revealed a major (“the largest ever,” actually) investment into the company’s South African manufacturing operations.
Ford has announced it will pour no less than $1.05 billion into new and advanced technologies and systems designed to “modernize and grow the Ford Silverton Assembly Plant to support expanded production of the all-new Ranger pickup truck, starting in 2022.” And they do mean business, because the company also wants to hire some 1,200 people to join the existing team to support the expanded production schedule.
According to the company, about $686 million of the investment will go into technologies, upgrades, and new facilities at the Ford Silverton Assembly Plant, directly enhancing the upcoming high efficiency and high-quality manufacturing of the all-new Ranger generation.
Interestingly, while annual production capacity will surge from the current 168k of vehicles per year to about 200,000k vehicles, the Silverton location is also tasked to become one of Ford’s first global manufacturing locations upgraded to the so-called “Island Mode.” That’s Blue Oval talk for a plant that’s completely “energy self-sufficient and carbon neutral,” with the status designed to be achieved by 2024.
Currently, the Silverton plant builds the Ranger for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and will continue to do so with the next-generation model. In addition, the 2023 Ranger will be made at the General Pacheco plant in Argentina for Latin American markets, while the U.S. model, which is likely to remain distinct to the global model, will carry on being made in the United States.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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