Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa

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Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa

logo
legal form Proprietary Limited Company
founding 1923
Seat South AfricaSouth Africa South Africa : Pretoria
Number of employees approx. 3700 (2016)
Branch Automobile manufacturer
Commercial vehicle manufacturer
Engine construction

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

It is a 100% subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company .

history

The company was founded in 1923. A year later, the first T models were assembled in Port Elizabeth. This made Ford the first automobile manufacturer in South Africa.

The assembly plant in Silverton near Pretoria opened in 1967 (1968 according to other sources).

Together with Sigma Motor Corporation , which at that time belonged to Anglo American and produced Mazda models for the local market, Ford founded the South African Motor Corporation (Samcor) in 1985. In 1988 Ford withdrew from South Africa for economic and political reasons.

Samcor produced passenger and commercial vehicle models for 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 under the Sao Penza brand name in the UK market between 1991 and 1992.

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 Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa . Since 2014, the Mazda brand has been sold again via its own dealer network.

Ford Ranger and Mazda BT-50 are currently produced in Silverton . In addition, the FMCSA has an engine plant that was opened in Struandale near Port Elizabeth in 1964 . The units manufactured there are exported to 148 countries.

Special models

Ford Cortina Pick-up Mk V (1981)

From 1971 to 1987 the Ford Cortina Pick-up (from 1982: Ford P100) was manufactured in South Africa . It was based on the respective Cortina model and was exported to Europe from 1982.

After the merger with Samcor , Ford began to badge-engineer its European models - Ford Escort and Ford Sierra - with Mazda-based Ford Laser / Ford Meteor and Ford Telstar . The Ford Husky was based on the Mitsubishi L300 .

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 from the outside by the air inlets on the bonnet, only made around 209 hp with a displacement of 5 liters.

In addition, more powerful South African Ford models were exported to Europe under the name Perana .

Web links

Commons : Samcor  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Overview ( Memento of the original from January 17, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa website. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ford.co.za
  2. ^ Ford in South Africa. Information on Ford in South Africa from 1903-1990 , information and pictures at www.dyna.co.za.
  3. ^ A b "South African Automotive Policy Evolution", in: automechika. Catalog 2013 ( Memento of the original dated February 6, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Pp. 62-71. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.automechanikasa.co.za
  4. ^ M. Compton / TJ Gallwey: Motor Assemblies Limited. A small South African Assembly Plant that became a major manufacturer , 2009.
  5. ↑ a b Ford Oldtimer and Motorsport Club Cologne eV in ADAC: Ford South Africa - SAMCOR .
  6. ↑ George Nick Georgano (Editor-in-Chief): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , p. 1413. (English)
  7. ^ Apartheid Gone, Ford Back in South Africa , in New York Times, November 29, 1994.
  8. ↑ Deon Sonnekus: Samcor Becomes Ford of Southern Africa , in: News24 of 21 August 2000th
  9. ↑ Irma Venter: Mazda invests R150m as it splits from Ford in SA , in: Engineering News from September 19, 2014.
  10. ↑ Charles Cornew: African adventures , in: Automotive Manufacturing Solutions from November 4, 2014.
  11. ^ Promotion for the Ford Husky on flickr.com.
  12. ↑ Bruno von Rotz: With real muscles - the unknown Ford Sierra XR8 , on: Zwischengas.com from January 25, 2016.