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The South African commercial vehicle market recorded a very marginal year-on-year increase of 0.1 % at the end of July , to reach 14 853 new units sales so far in 2018 . The biggest growth occurred in the Extra Heavy Commercial Vehicle segment , which increased sales by 4.4 % to 6 964 units year-to-date .
Although the overall market picked up , the Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicle segments still showed declines of 4.3 % ( 4 333 units ) and 1.8 % ( 3 007 units ) respectively . Bus sales also
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continued to decline , so far by 5.2 % this year , and reached 549 new unit sales at the end of July .
This is according to the latest results released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa ( Naamsa ), Associated Motor Holdings ( AMH ) and Amalgamated Automobile Distributors ( AAD ).
The export market has so far increased by 1 % this year , to 565 units . A total of 83 Bus sales has been recorded , a 65.5 % improvement over the same
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period in 2017 . Year-on-year MCV sales are also up by a significant 91.18 % to 65 units . HCVs declined to 96 units , down by 1 %, and EHCV sales also decreased by 23 % to 321 units .
Looking more closely at the truck market , UD Trucks Southern Africa expects the market to flatten out during the remainder of 2018 .
“ The long-haul segment remains stable , supported by the slight growth in demand for transport on the back of increased trade figures . However , a decline
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in the mining , agricultural and manufacturing industries are still stifling sales in this segment ,” said Gert Swanepoel , managing director of UD Trucks Southern Africa . “ The distribution segment , which includes waste still remained strong , as new vehicles are acquired for tenders awarded , while the demand for construction vehicles has declined slightly .”
Swanepoel said that the company anticipates the market to flatten out during the balance of 2018 .
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FAW goodness sake |
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Portland , of the Portland Group of Companies , produces aggregates and also provides a range of concretes to large construction sites , shopping malls , and office blocks , as well as to residential properties and low-cost housing projects .
In 2008 , it expanded to include manufacturing , installation , and transport of precast hollow core slabs . First in the city to take delivery of a FAW 33.420FT
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recently , while its first batch of FAW trucks it ever bought happened eight years ago . It is now on its third buying cycle with the company .
Apart from the quarry , Portland also runs several FAW 28.380FT 6 × 4 truck tractors with flat deck trailers up and down the Cape Peninsula , with payloads of up to 28 tonnes and gross combined mass ( GCM ) of about 63 tonnes .
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MD Nico Heyns initially bought six FAW 28.380FTs equipped with flat deck trailers as a trial to test the brand and its products first-hand . While most of its ready-mix vehicles do not drive long distances , the terrain in the company ’ s quarry is steep , with long inclines , and it is highly demanding on the vehicles that operate in it . Also , ready-mix concrete cannot be left to harden inside vehicle drums . It is delicate to |
both handle and transport . Vehicle breakdowns are out of the question .
This is partly why Portland has adopted a strict truck renewal policy , which sees it trading in its trucks for new vehicles every three years . This ensures maximum uptime is achieved . Truck maintenance is set at 300-hour intervals , with the FAW trucks working 12 hours per day , five days a week . Source : Business Day
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