Ford promises that the next-generation Ranger, due in 2022, will be the “best one yet” and will be produced with “superior quality.”
The pronouncement comes as the American carmaker made a USD 1 billion investment to modernize the Ford Silverton Assembly Plant in South Africa, one of the production sites of the best-selling pickup truck.
Per Ford:
These include construction of a new body shop with the latest robotic technology and a new high-tech stamping plant, both of which will be located on-site for the first time. Both facilities will modernize and streamline the integrated manufacturing process at Silverton while contributing to higher quality and reducing overall cost and waste.The new stamping plant will use a high-speed line to produce all the major sheet metal components for the new Ranger. It includes a fully automated storage and retrieval system for stamping dies, which will be housed innovatively in the roof of the facility, thus eliminating related labor-intensive processes. In addition, a modern blue-light scanner system that scans surfaces for imperfections will ensure the highest-quality final product leaves the stamping plant.Extensive upgrades also will be made to the box line, paint shop and final assembly to improve vehicle flow within the plant, along with the expansion of the container and vehicle yards.
The Ford Silverton Assembly plant will build the all-new Ranger side-by-side with the next-generation Volkswagen Amarok (see lead photo) as part of the Ford-VW strategic alliance.
For the Asia-Pacific market, assembly of the all-new 2022 Ranger will still continue at Ford Thailand Manufacturing (FTM) and Auto Alliance Thailand (AAT) plants. They will likely undergo the same level of plant updates to assemble the next-generation pickup trucks as well.
Now, details on the 2022 Ranger are still scarce at the moment, but sources say that the 2.2-liter 4-cylinder engine will be dropped entirely. Instead, the single-turbo 2.0-liter will serve as the base engine, while the twin-turbo 2.0-liter will become the mid-trim engine. A 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6, shared with the North American F-150 is said to power the highest variants, including the next-generation Ranger Raptor.
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