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Africa and
Middle East
In Africa, Ford's market presence has
traditionally been strongest in South Africa
and neighbouring countries, with only trucks
being sold elsewhere on the continent. Ford
in South Africa began by importing kits from
Canada to be assembled at its Port Elizabeth
facility. Later Ford sourced its models from
the UK and Australia, with local versions of
the Ford Cortina including the XR6, with a
3.0 V6 engine, and a Cortina-based 'bakkie'
or pick-up, which was exported to the UK. In
the mid-1980s Ford merged with a rival
company, owned by Anglo American, to form
the South African Motor Corporation (Samcor).
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Following international condemnation of
apartheid, Ford divested from South Africa
in 1988, and sold its stake in Samcor,
although it licensed the use of its brand
name to the company. Samcor began to
assemble Mazdas as well, which affected its
product line-up, and saw the European Fords
like the Escort and Sierra replaced by the
Mazda-based Laser and Telstar. Ford bought a
45 per cent stake in Samcor following the
demise of apartheid in 1994, and this later
became, once again, a wholly owned
subsidiary, the Ford Motor Company of
Southern Africa. Ford now sells a local
sedan version of the Fiesta (also built in
India and Mexico), and the Focus. The Falcon
model from Australia was also sold in South
Africa, but was dropped in 2003, while the
Mondeo, after briefly being assembled
locally, was dropped in 2005. |
