Growth Amidst a Year of Decline

Ford South Africa recorded encouraging growth in both its domestic sales and its export volumes in 2024, despite both segments declining year-on-year.

Having launched a raft of exciting new models over the past two years, Ford reinforced its commitment to delivering an even more compelling and competitive range of vehicles and services for its customers in the passenger car and light commercial vehicle (LCV) segments. This bold product strategy is bearing fruit, powering Ford’s upward momentum on the sales charts despite overall industry sales declining by more than 3 percent in 2024.

Ford notched up a total of 32 765 new vehicle sales last year, which represented an increase of 2 056 units or 6.4 percent compared to 2023.

“During our Centenary celebrations in November 2023, we announced an aggressive new model launch programme supported by an unwavering commitment to giving our customers an exceptional range of services and experiences,” said Neale Hill, president, Ford Motor Company Africa. “We are delighted to see the success of this strategy coming through in 2024 as we were able to grow our volumes and market share in an industry that came under immense pressure last year and declined by more than 3 percent.”

Ryan Searle, director of Sales Operations, Ford South Africa, said: “Achieving 6.7 percent growth in the current economic climate, and with a flurry of new competitors entering the fray, is a significant achievement for the Ford brand and our current product line-up. It is also a positive indication that the extensive work we have done to reshape the Ford sales and product portfolio and the ownership experience is paying off.”

The locally manufactured Ford Ranger remained the company’s leading contender in 2024. The 25 552 units sold in South Africa last year represented its highest volume since 2018 (30 135 vehicles), and was 935 units up on 2023. This helped secure a 24.3 percent share of the highly competitive LCV segment for the year, climbing from the 22.7 percent recorded in 2023 which helped cement its second place in the segment.

Ranger once again retained its prime position as the top choice for double cab buyers, ending 2024 with a total of 20 078 units sold (4 756 more than its closest competitor) and a 33.4 percent share of this segment. With an extensive line-up encompassing everything from the tough-as-nails Base model to the ultra-luxurious Platinum, there’s a Ranger Double Cab to suit every application.

As the only imported model in the Ranger line-up, the Ranger Raptor still sets the benchmark for peerless performance and capability. Of the 25 552 Rangers sold in 2024, the Ranger Raptor accounted for an impressive 1 930 units, solidifying this peerless model’s status at the pinnacle of the double cab segment.

Along with its success on the new vehicle sales front, Ranger remains one of South Africa’s most popular used vehicles. According to AutoTrader, the Ranger was the best-selling used vehicle on its website in December 2024, reaffirming the continued high demand and trust in the Ranger amongst second-hand vehicle buyers.

The versatile seven-seater Everest sport utility vehicle (SUV) was Ford’s second-best selling vehicle in 2024 with a total of 3 109 vehicles sold, just four units shy of its 2023 figure. It claimed 16.1 percent share for the year and second place in its segment.

Ford returned to the compact SUV corner of the market with the spacious and superbly comfortable Territory in April 2024, notching up 2 123 sales in its first nine months on showroom floors. The Puma racked up 873 units for the year.

The new Transit Custom van and Tourneo Custom people-mover were launched in June and September 2024, respectively, starting with one derivative each. The combination of the run-out of the previous-generation models and the introduction of the all-new van and bus models led to a combined volume of 624 units last year compared to 638 in 2023. However, with the Transit and Tourneo Custom line-ups set to be bolstered with the introduction of a wider range of derivatives in 2025, there is sure to be growing demand for Ford’s multiple award-winning Transit and Tourneo Custom in 2025. The large commercial Transit van, which is also due to be replaced this year, sold 288 units.

One of the major highlights of last year was the highly anticipated release of the seventh-generation Mustang – kicking off with the 5.0L V8 GT in November and the track-honed Dark Horse a month later. A total of 195 Mustangs were sold in 2024 (including the last of the sixth-generation models).

Ranger exports

The Ford Ranger’s success on the new vehicle sales front was not only emulated but surpassed by its export results for 2024. The locally manufactured Ranger has consistently been one of South Africa’s top vehicle exports since 2011, and this was no different last year as it achieved a substantial 15.7 percent year-on-year growth despite the country’s total export volume of 399 809 units resulting in a 2.2 percent decline compared to 2023.

A total of 66 284 Rangers were exported last year – the second-highest figure to date, just 3 193 units shy of its 2018 record. This entrenched the Ranger’s status as the top export in the LCV segment, and placed it third in the overall export volumes accounting for passenger and light commercial vehicles combined. The Ranger is exported to more than 100 global markets, including Europe where it is the top-selling vehicle in its segment.