2025 Ford Ranger Plug-in Hybrid
In September 2023, Ford Global dropped a bomb many expected it to, announcing that its first-ever plug-in hybrid Ranger bakkie will be market-ready by 2025.
This is big news as the Ranger is a firm favourite among the global car-buying public. In South Africa, too, the bakkie is a top 3 contender for total monthly sales figures, with the double cab version comfortably the best-selling derivative of all vehicles sold in Mzansi.
So with the announcement that the hybrid Ranger will go into production in 2024, questions began circulating as to whether or not it will be built alongside the current Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok at Ford’s Silverton plant in Pretoria.
Expectedly, the Blue Oval’s local division can’t divulge into any conversation just yet, but information first reported on by Cars.co.za suggests that Ford’s Silverton factory will indeed make room for this new bakkie.
The unearthed information
According to Cars.co.za, a Process Engineer by the name of Keerthana Suresh is “currently working on the Ford Ranger PHEV “battery pack assembly process” for the Silverton plant in South Africa.”
Based in Chennai, India, Suresh has been involved on the project since December 2022.
Furthermore, the Ford Motor Company of South Africa advertised three positions (now closed) on Pnet, that of an Engineering Specialist, Battery Assembly; an Engineering Controls Specialist, Battery Assembly; and a Production Process Coach, Battery Assembly.
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All three positions are based in Gqeberha, Easter Cape, suggesting that the recruits will be based at Ford’s Struandale engine plant. This plant received a R600 million investment in 2021, upgrading it to build the engines for the new Ranger that was launched in 2022.
The engines currently produced by the Eastern Cape workforce include the 2-0-litre diesel engine in both single- and bi-turbo guises, the 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel engine, and the 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine.
It is not yet clear if Ford will produce the hybrid Ranger’s petrol engine in South Africa.
In addition, Ford South Africa exports its Ranger to more than 100 global markets, including the UK – one of the biggest hybrid markets in the world…
About the upcoming Ranger
The Ranger Plug-in Hybrid will be powered by a 2.3-litre EcoBoost turbo-petrol engine that’s paired with an electric motor and a rechargeable battery system. According to Ford, the Ranger can be driven “for more than 45km” on electric power alone.
Despite the updated (and likely heavier) powertrain, Ford says it is targeting to endow the bakkie with the same maximum braked towing capacity as the rest of the Ranger line-up: 3 500kg. The Ranger Raptor makes do with a 2 500kg braked towing capacity, given its purpose and very different application.
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The Ranger Plug-in Hybrid will feature Ford’s four-wheel-drive system.
Ford is yet to confirm whether the hybrid Ranger will go on sale locally, but early information suggests that it will indeed be the case.
