By Our Reporter
The Cooper Motor Corporation (CMC) has officially unveiled the all-new Ford Ranger Raptor in Uganda. It was unveiled during a ceremony held at at Busiika Motor RaceTrack on Wednesday.
The Ranger Raptor creates an entirely new breed of exceptionally capable off-road vehicles that pushes the limits in technology, innovation and driving excitement.
“We are excited and proud to unleash the Ford Performance version of the highly successful Ford Ranger, which is produced at our Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria, South Africa,” said Achraf El Boustani, Managing Director Ford North Africa and Sub Saharan Africa.
“The Ranger Raptor brings a different customer into Ford showrooms and delivers bold and aggressive styling matched with immense off-road capability that totally rewrites the rules for the 4×4 pickup segment. We have a passion for bringing the best to our customers, and Ranger Raptor showcases the best of Ford Performance’s expertise in performance vehicle design and engineering.”
Addressing journalists during the unveiling, Richard Musani, CMC Brand Manager – Ford Uganda, said the arrival of the Ranger Raptor heralded an exciting moment for off-road fans in the country.
“We’re proud to be able to offer our customers the very best in off-road performance with the launch of the amazing Ranger Raptor,” Musani said. “With its incredible off-road credentials, aggressive looks and uncompromising capability, we can’t wait for our customers to experience the truck on home soil.”
Ready to set a new benchmark in high-speed and off-road capability, the Ranger Raptor packs a hefty punch in the pickup segment. The commanding presence delivered by the ultimate Ranger’s imposing dimensions and extreme styling is supported by a unique Ford Performance chassis optimised for high-speed off-road driving and go-anywhere capability.
It has a high-performance 2.0-litre Bi-Turbo engine with 157kW and 500Nm, mated to Ford’s advanced new 10-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters Innovative Terrain Management System.
Speaking during the launch, Eng. Tony Kavuma, the Chief Mechanical Engineer at Ministry of Works commended the Ford Motor Company for making more fuel efficient vehicles but advised them to make them more affordable.
“Government procures almost 800 cars annually, most of these are brand new pickups while the private sector procures about 25, 000 cars, but only 10% of these are new. We need to ensure that people can afford these cars and these can be achieved through favorable financing options,” revealed Eng. Tony Kavuma.
Meanwhile, Ford also used the launch to announce their partnership with Stanbic Bank Uganda dubbed “Ford Finance” which is a strategic alliance that comes in to provide a convenient financing solution for customers to easily own any brand that is under Ford Motor Company.
Through the partnership, customers will be able to drive and use the vehicles on lease after paying an initial deposit of 10% of the total cost of the vehicle. They will thereafter pay a monthly fee to the bank and after a period of time the car ownership will be transferred to them.
The new Ford Ranger Raptor is available at $ 80,000 (about Ugx 300 million).