Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (Pty.) Ltd. is an automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturer with corporate headquarters in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

. auf der Website der Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa.

History

The company was founded in 1923. A year later, the first Model Ts were assembled in Port Elizabeth."South African Automotive Policy Evolution", in: , S. 62–71. This made Ford the first automobile manufacturer in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. The assembly plant in Silverton near Pretoria was opened in 1967 (according to other sources 1968).Ford Oldtimer und Motorsport Club Cologne e.V. im ADAC
Ford Südafrika – SAMCOR
Together with Sigma Motor Corporation, which at that time belonged to

Anglo American plc Anglo American plc is a British listed multinational mining company with headquarters in London, England. It is the world's largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output, as well as being a major producer of diamonds, copper ...

and produced

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

models for the local market, Ford founded the South African Motor Corporation (

Samcor The South African Motor Corporation, more commonly known as Samcor, was a South African car manufacturer created in 1985 through the merger of Ford Motor Company of Canada's South African subsidiary and Sigma Motor Corporation (previously known a ...

) in 1985. In 1988, Ford withdrew from South Africa for economic and political reasons. Samcor produced car and commercial vehicle models of the Ford and Mazda brands as well as the South African version of the Mazda 323 as Sao Penza. A source confirms the sale of the

Mazda 323 The , also marketed prominently as the Mazda 323, Mazda Protegé and Mazda Allegro, is a small family car that was manufactured by Mazda between 1963 and 2003. The Familia line was replaced by the Mazda3/Axela for 2004. It was marketed as the '' ...

under the

Sao Penza The , also marketed prominently as the Mazda 323, Mazda Protegé and Mazda Allegro, is a small family car that was manufactured by Mazda between 1963 and 2003. The Familia line was replaced by the Mazda3/Axela for 2004. It was marketed as the '' ...

brand name in the UK between 1991 and 1992.George Nick Georgano (Chefredakteur): ''The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.'' Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, , S. 1413. (englisch) With the renewed takeover of Samcor shares (45%) in 1994 Ford returned to South Africa. In 2000 Ford took over the majority of the Samcor shares, which became the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. Since 2014, the Mazda brand has again been distributed via its own dealer network. The

Ford Ranger Ford Ranger is a nameplate that has been used on multiple model lines of pickup trucks sold by Ford worldwide. The nameplate has been used for distinct model lines of vehicles worldwide since 1982 from the compact and mid-size pickup category. ...

is currently produced in Silverton. In addition, the FMCSA has an engine factory opened in Struandale near Port Elizabeth in 1964. The units manufactured there are exported to 148 countries. The

Ford Everest The Ford Everest is a mid-size SUV produced by Ford Motor Company since 2003. Developed and destined mainly for the Asia-Pacific region with production centered in Thailand, the first-generation Everest is based on the Mazda-based Ford Ranger ...

SUV is also currently produced in Silverton.

Models

From 1971 to 1987, the

Ford Cortina The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s. The Cortina was produced in fiv ...

Pick-up (from 1982: Ford P100) was manufactured in South Africa. It was based on the respective Cortina model and was exported to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

from 1982. After the merger with Samcor, Ford began to badge-engineer its European models - Ford Escort and

Ford Sierra The Ford Sierra is a mid-size car or large family car manufactured and marketed by Ford Europe from 1982-1993, designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément — and noted for its aerodynamic styling producing a drag coeffi ...

- with Mazda-based

Ford Laser The Ford Laser is a compact car, originally a subcompact car in the first three generations, which was sold by Ford in Asia, Oceania, and parts of South America and Africa. It has generally been available as a sedan or hatchback, although con ...

Ford Meteor Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

and

Ford Telstar The Ford Telstar is an automobile that was sold by Ford in Asia, Australasia and Africa, comparable in size to the European Ford Sierra and the North American Ford Tempo. It was progressively replaced by the Ford Mondeo. It was named after the Te ...

. The Ford Husky was based on the

Mitsubishi L300 The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

. The model Sierra XR8 achieved international fame, of which a total of 250 vehicles were produced between 1984 and 1988. The vehicle, which can be recognized externally by the air inlets on the bonnet, made around 209 hp with a displacement of 5 liters.Bruno von Rotz
Mit richtigen Muskeln - der unbekannte Ford Sierra XR8
auf: Zwischengas.com vom 25. Januar 2016.

References

External links

* {{Automotive industry in South Africa Ford Motor Company Car manufacturers of South Africa Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1923 1923 establishments in South Africa South African subsidiaries of foreign companies Manufacturing companies based in the City of Tshwane Organisations based in Pretoria