Capital Equipment News December 2021

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

“I firmly believe that the new setup promotes the necessary focus on our core business, creates favourable conditions for us to be more competitive and acceler- ates the development of key technologies for us to continue to provide cutting-edge products and services to fulfil the special needs of our customers. The indepen- dence is fully aligned with our growth strategy and further strengthens our foothold within the markets we operate in. As we gear up to a smooth transition, our commitment to all who keep Africa moving remains unchanged,” adds Dietz. As the new era kicks in, DTBSA will soon be enhancing its existing product portfolio with what Dietz terms exciting new offerings that cover all the segments of the market, from long haul and distribu- tion to construction and mining. As part of that process, the first eCanter has arrived in South Africa, as DTBSA aims to be a pacesetter in the electrification revolution locally. Record year in sight The new structure comes at a time when DTBSA envisages a record year in 2021. At the time of writing, the company expected to post R8-billion in revenue for the year. Having lost the No 1 spot in the Extra Heavy Commercial Vehicle (EHCV) market for a short while, Kendzorra tells Capital Equipment News that the company ex- pects to regain its market-leading position this year, with a total of about 4 000 units and a 19% market share. DTBSA expects to end the year on No 2 in the Heavy Bus market, losing its pole position in a market that has been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Kendzorra expects market recovery to continue unabated in the next two years. “We expect the market to return to pre- COVID levels by 2023. Leveraging our new business structure and, more importantly, our dedicated finance arm, DFSA, we have a strong forecast of 5 000 units in the EHCV market by 2023. We have lots of confidence in our business,” he says. Kendzorra has seen a strong penetra- tion of the company’s own captive finance this year, and expects that to continue as the market continues to rebound. “Every second bus or truck we have sold this year has been financed by our own in-house finance, representing a 50% penetration rate,” he says. Commenting on the record year, Ma- retha Gerber, vice president: Sales and Marketing at DTBSA, says the company’s positive reaction to the pandemic at the

Michael Dietz, CEO of DTBSA, says the new structure heralds a new dawn for DTBSA.

Peter Kendzorra, executive director and CFO of DTBSA, expects the company to regain its No 1 position in the Extra Heavy Commercial Vehicle market this year.

Dietz says the historic milestone represents the start of a profound reshaping of DTBSA. With a truck and bus dedicated as well as a customer-centric corporate structure going forward, the company is well-placed to drive a sustainable transport system to better serve the growing business needs of the southern African market. “This is indeed a massive turning point for us as DTBSA and a huge investment for the southern Africa market. We have done some ground-breaking changes previously, such as the establishment of DTBSA as a legal entity in 2019 and, more recently, the founding of our very own captive financial mobility services, DTFS,” says Dietz.

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