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Ford Motor Company said on Tuesday that it plans to invest $170 million (or 2.5 billion rand) to upgrade its Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria, South Africa, for the production of the new Ford Everest and Ford Ranger pickup models.

With this investment, South Africa will become a major production hub and export base for Ford’s vehicles in the Middle East and Africa.

“Our customers love the capability and utility offered by the all-new Ford Everest,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s Executive Vice President and President of Europe, Middle East and Africa. “By producing the Everest in South Africa, we will be able to make it more readily available, and in a greater variety of models, for customers throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Ford’s Silverton facility will be equipped to produce about 10,000 units of the Everest model annually. Initial production at the facility will commence in the third quarter of 2016, with the first units expected to come to market in the fourth quarter.

“The all-new Everest has been extremely well received since it was launched in September last year, with demand far outstripping supply,” said Jeff Nemeth, Ford’s President/CEO for Sub-Saharan Africa. “This crucial investment will enable us to increase volumes and expand the Everest range to eight derivatives across a broader price range.”

In recent years, Ford has established its footprint in Africa with continued investment and growth. In 2008, Ford said it would invest 3.4 billion rand (about $225 million) to transform the Silverton facility into a production hub and export base for the Ford Ranger and Ford Duratorq TDCi diesel engines. In 2015, the automaker said it would assemble the Ford Ranger in Nigeria using semi knocked-down (SKD) kits and components imported from South Africa.

Ford contributes immensely to South Africa’s $10 billion auto industry, which accounts for 15 percent of the country’s total exports. In 2015, Ford said it sold 78,471 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in South Africa, the highest number on record.