Ford’s South African layoffs are linked to a change in UK taxes and decreased sales

Ford Motor Company’s (F.N.) South African division has opened a new tab and blamed the planned layoffs on a decline in European orders for its Ranger pickup truck, which was caused by recent tax changes in the UK and slow export sales of its plug-in hybrid Ranger model.

The Struandale engine facility in Gqeberha and the Silverton car assembly plant in Pretoria will lay off 474 employees, Ford formally informed unions this month.

For international exports, mostly to Europe, Ford is the only manufacturer of the plug-in hybrid Ranger. For both domestic and international markets, it also manufactures the internal combustion engine Ranger.

On the margins of an auto convention on Wednesday, Neale Hill, President of Ford Motor business Africa, told Reuters that the business had to cut operations from three shifts to two due to a decline in demand for the Ranger.

For tax purposes, double-cab pickups in the UK that carry a payload of one tonne or more are now considered passenger cars instead than commercial vans, which makes them more costly to acquire. This change took effect in April 2025.

As a result, folks have regrettably turned down the volume. That has therefore had a significant effect on our European orders,” he stated.

Ford’s plug-in hybrid Ranger’s low sales volumes are another factor contributing to the strain.

“We haven’t seen the plug-in hybrid Ranger hit the volumes that we’ve been looking for,” Hill explained. “It’s an expensive vehicle, plus, we are not getting to the European originating content, which then makes it able to go into Europe duty-free.”

The volume for South Africa is still steady and is most likely going up a little, Hill continued.

The Ford plant can produce 200,000 cars a year, but it isn’t currently using it to its full potential.

There will be roughly 100,000 this year, and the installed capacity at capable volume is 140,000. That’s what we’ll continue to do,” Hill stated.