Latest news with #bakkies
News24
a day ago
- Automotive
- News24
More than just a car brand – Ford's Wildlife Foundation helps protect SA's precious leopards
The Cape Leopard Trust was founded in 2004. The Ford Wildlife Foundation was established in 2014. Ford provides the Cape Leopard Trust team with Ranger bakkies to continue their work. Aside from its range of local bakkies and SUVs that fly the flag high in terms of monthly sales in South Africa, Ford is also actively involved in a couple of initiatives locally like the READ Educational Trust (since its inception in 1998) and the (Ford) Wildlife Foundation. The latter was established in 2014 and currently supports 28 projects across SA and another in Mozambique. For more than 30 years, Ford South Africa has actively participated in wildlife and ecosystem conservation efforts in SA and Sub-Saharan Africa. The Ford Wildlife Foundation (FWF) is unique in its partnership with organisations. These organisations are selected by Ford and the FWF board and receive the full-time use of locally assembled Rangers for a period of two years. The greater good The automaker has supported the Cape Leopard Trust (CLT) in its leopard conservation work. They are a non-governmental, not-for-profit, public benefit organisation founded in 2004 that facilitates and promotes the conservation of biological diversity, focusing on the leopard as a flagship species. Rob Till/Ford SA The team is small and close-knit, guided by a board of trustees and a scientific advisory board, and supported by brand ambassadors. ALSO READ | Ford's fancy Everest 3.0 V6 Platinum is everything you need in large SUV Essential to capturing images of the leopards in the area is the CLT's research team's camera trap - a motion- and heat-sensitive digital camera that monitors wildlife day and night, which is essential for studying leopards in the Cape region. 'Researching leopards in the Cape is especially challenging due to the leopard's elusive nature and the demanding landscapes we work in. Fieldwork requires careful planning, rugged equipment, and reliable mobility,' said Dr Katy Williams, Research and Conservation Director at the CLT. Rob Till/Ford SA Additionally, the Boland Mountain Complex (BMC) is one of the CLT's priority long-term monitoring sites, with the current survey spanning approximately 2 500km² and involving 90 paired camera trap stations. With that in mind, Ford provided the CLT team with Ranger bakkies, which enabled them to reach the more rugged and mountainous regions needed to capture data—it would have been very challenging to do otherwise. 'At Ford, we believe in enabling real-world conservation efforts through practical support. The Cape Leopard Trust's work is not only scientifically robust but community-focused, and their team is often working in difficult terrain under tough conditions,' says Lynda du Plessis, manager of the Ford Wildlife Foundation. Rob Till/Ford SA Rangers for the job Bakkies are known for their ruggedness, and in this instance, they not only have the mechanical capability but also sufficient load space to transport equipment and reach remote field sites that are otherwise inaccessible. The double-cab bakkie derivatives were the XL (priced from R620 000), XLT (priced from R681 500), and Wildtrak X (priced from R1 070 500). The XL has a single turbodiesel 2.0-litre engine that produces 125kW and 405Nm. It is also available in 4x2 or 4x4 configuration and can be paired with either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. The XLT also does duty with the same 2.0-litre unit as the XL and is also available in bi-turbo trim as well. The bi-turbo makes 154kW and 500Nm. The single turbo versions use six-speed automatic transmissions, while the bi-turbo garners the 10-speed automatic. The Wildtrak X is only available with the 2.0-litre Bi-Turbo and full-time 4 4-wheel drive.
News24
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- News24
The Bakkie report: Hilux, Ranger lead April sales with strong export numbers
Quickpic The Toyota Hilux saw an increased market share of 29.4% in April. Ford sold 1 728 units last month, bringing its total to 10 002 Ranger bakkies sold so far in SA in 2025. Peugeot's Landtrek, which usually averages about 60 to 70 sales monthly, sold a healthy 100 units in April. It's no surprise that Toyota's Hilux was SA's most-sold vehicle again in April, but both the market leader and its closest rival, the Ford Ranger, boasts great export numbers, too. Hilux maintained the biggest light commercial vehicle segment share, with an increased market share of 29.4% (2 780 units). The LandCruiser PickUp moved 417 units off showroom floors. The Hilux Single Cab, which has proved to be a fundamental asset in many commercial fleets, reflected a 23% increase compared to April 2024. The automaker also exported 6 995 units last month. From January to April 2025, Toyota shipped off a whopping 23 861 Hilux bakkies to global markets. Ford takes back its second spot from Isuzu with 1 728 units sold last month. The Blue Oval brand also exported 6 492 units. Ranger exports from South Africa to more than 100 global markets. From January to April, the automaker shipped 20 244 bakkies to customers worldwide (including April figures). Ford accounted for 11.2% of total industry exports from January to March 2025 (13 752 units) and a 34.5% share of the light commercial export volume. The Ranger is still Ford's best-selling vehicle, accounting for 6 205 units (7 933 with April tally included) sold during the first quarter of this year - 150 vehicles or 2.5% higher than the same period in 2024. In the monthly sales charts, Ranger followed the same positive trend as Ford's overall volumes, climbing from 1 858 units in January to 2 168 in February and 2 179 in March. It only dipped in April, with 1 728 units sold. Ford said the strategic role its Silverton Manufacturing Plant played within the automaker's global manufacturing network had been further strengthened with the commencement of production of the first-ever Ranger Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) in March this year. This new model is exclusively produced in South Africa for all global markets. The brand added it built approximately 200 Ranger PHEV bakkies per day, further bolstering its export business and seeing exports from South Africa to Australia and New Zealand for the first time. It also has the capacity to build 700 units a day of the regular Ranger, but this number depends on demand and can vary daily. The South African-built Ranger has been Europe's best-selling pickup for the past 10 years with a 43.6% market share, and the new Ranger PHEV is set to play a significant role in Ford's LCV line-up in the region. Isuzu also saw a drop in sales, with 1 108 units sold after a strong March (2 250) when it overtook Ranger sales. While the passenger vehicle market had a good month, most automaker tallies were down in the light commercial segment, bar Toyota and French automaker Peugeot. Mahindra sold 694 bakkies, of which 654 were attributed to the Scorpio Pik Up and 40 units of its Bolero workhorse. GWM sold 568 bakkies with 497 P-Series models and 71 Steed units. Nissan moved 293 Navara models, outselling the VW Amarok on 254 models. Chomping at VW's heels is the new Foton Tunland G7 bakkie which sold 212 bakkies last month. JAC Motors sold 185 bakkies between its T-Series (161) and X-Series (24). Stellantis Group's Peugeot had a great month, bringing in 100 sales of its underrated Landtrek bakkie, up from the average of 60 a month. Five units of the Jeep Gladiator bakkie found new homes. It's incredibly sad to see the new Mitsubishi Triton only moving 16 units in April when it usually used to sell about 70 units before its new model launch. Hopefully, the Japanese automaker can relook its pricing and devise a better strategy for this bakkie. It truly is a remarkable product, with great fuel consumption and excellent off-roading capabilities. SA's bakkie sales: April 2025 Toyota Hilux - 2 780 Ford Ranger - 1 728 Isuzu D-Max - 1 108 Mahindra Scorpio Pik Up - 654 GWM P-Series - 497 Toyota Land Cruiser - 417 Nissan Navara - 293 VW Amarok - 254 Foton Tunland - 212 JAC T-Series - 161 Peugeot Landtrek - 100 GWM Steed - 71 Mahindra Bolero - 40 JAC X-Series - 24 Mitsubishi Triton - 16 Jeep Gladiator - 5
