Ford has assembled its first Ranger at its new assembly facility in Nigeria.
The first Ranger to come off the assembly line was built in an existing facility with Ford’s Nigerian partners Coscharis. Ford announced it would produce Ranger trucks in Nigeria in August.
“The facility will accommodate one shift and will produce an initial 10 units per day for the Nigerian market, creating approximately 180 direct and indirect jobs. Over time, this will gradually expand,” said Jeff Nemeth, President and CEO Ford Motor Company of Sub-Saharan Africa region.
“The main driver behind Ford in Africa is affordability. Africa is one of the youngest markets in the world and presents a huge opportunity in terms of consumption,” he added. “The buying power of the African consumer is on the rise as the continent’s middle class increases exponentially. Despite infrastructure challenges, Africa has demonstrated impressive returns on foreign direct investment.”
Dr. Cosmas Maduka, president of Coscharis Motors, said: “We have worked hard and moved quickly to turn this dream into a reality. Today marks an important milestone when the cogs in the wheel really start to turn, not only for Ford in Nigeria, but in general for the Nigerian industry, which is receiving a much needed boost towards industrialisation and the development of the automotive industry.
“We are committed to setting the bar high, and establishing world-class, best practices in Nigeria that every other industrialist will have to be judged by. This is a major milestone for us and marks another first in the evolution of our company.”
The Ford Ranger trucks will be assembled at a semi-knockdown level, using body parts and components imported from Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant in South Africa.
The models that will initially be built in Nigeria are the 2.5 petrol 4×4 double cab base and the 3.2 TDCi XLT 4X4.
