Capital Equipment News February 2019

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS NEWS

Truck sales off to a good start in 2019

The South African commercial vehicle market got off to a flying start in 2019, showing a 7,3% increase on January 2018’s results to reach 1 653 sales. This is according to the latest results released for Janu- ary 2019 by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa), Associated Motor Holdings (AMH) and Amalgamated Automobile Distributors (AAD). Looking at the year-on-year comparison, Medium Commercial Vehicle sales grew by 24,6% to 552 units. Sales in the Heavy Commercial Vehicle segment increased by 6,5% to 327 units, while the Extra Heavy Commercial Vehicle showed a slight decline of 1,8% to conclude the month on 719 sales. Bus sales were down by 6,8% to 55 units. “We are very encouraged by the good start to the year,” says Gert Swanepoel, MD of UD Trucks Southern Africa. “We foresee that certain macroeconomic influencers like the upcoming national elections and lower business confidence might damper sales up to July.” Swanepoel says that 2018’s positive results proved that the truck market is resilient, even amid challenging eco- Connectivity, autonomous driving, digitalisation of transport services and electrification are just a few of the innovations that are revolutionising the concept of mobility. To sustain its pre-eminent positioning in the commercial vehicles market and to prepare it for the future, Daimler Trucks and Buses Southern Africa (DTBSA) was established, effective January 1 2019, as a separate legal entity dedicated to focus on current and future truck and bus customer needs within the southern African region (South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho). As a market-leading manufacturer of commercial vehicles, DTBSA aims to become further established as a supplier of premium commercial products and ser- vices, placing customer satisfaction first. Commenting on the establishment of the new entity, CEO of DTBSA, Jasper Hafkamp, says: “In everything we do, we focus on our customers. Our mission and reason for existence is to make our customers more successful – with the best products and solutions. The establishment of a new, legal entity in Daimler Trucks and Buses Southern Africa will sharpen our strategic focus and provide the entrepre-

nomic conditions, and that businesses still choose to invest in new vehicles for their fleets as this past January’s results showed. “One concern is that the average age of the local commercial vehicle parc is too high, at around 12 years currently. In order to have a healthy and safe vehicle popu- lation, trucks need to be replaced every eight to 10 years or so, and this is a goal that the industry needs to work towards,” says Swanepoel. UD Trucks believes that more and more businesses are turning to modern smart logistics to ensure efficiency, productivity

Growth in the logistics and transport sectors were some of the key drivers in 2018’s growth in sales, and the trend is expected to continue this year. “Growth in the logistics and transport sectors were some of the key drivers in 2018’s growth in sales, and we expect this trend to continue this year,” explains Swanepoel. “We remain positive that 2019 will deliver another growth year for the commercial vehicle market.” b and profitability. Aspects like telematics are playing an increasing role in fleet and route planning, as the demand from con- sumers for faster turnaround times grow.

• 1 653 – The total number of new truck sales in January 2019

Daimler Trucks and Buses Southern Africa established

neurial freedom to respond quickly and flexibly to the unprecedented changes happening in the automotive industry,” says Hafkamp. “Becoming a standalone entity enables us to concentrate fully on our customers and enter into more flexible partnerships for the future success of the business. As such, 2019 promises to be an exciting year, and one that is full of opportunities. In addition to the new corporate structure, we will also be expanding our product range within the Southern African region whilst retaining our reputation as the embodiment of innovation, technology, safety and relentless commit- ment to our customers’ safety.” The establishment of DTBSA as a separate legal entity is in line with Daimler AG’s implementation of its ‘5C strategy’, which is focused on the development of five closely-related themes designed to promote the growth and success of the Group: to strengthen the core business (CORE) globally, confirm the status of the Group as an industry leader in tomorrow’s new mobility sectors (CASE), adapt the company’s corporate culture as regards innovation and sustainability (CULTURE), and consolidate the divisional structure, making it more flexible (COMPANY). At the

centre of these strategic components is the fifth and most important C: the CUSTOMER. With regards to the fourth pillar, COM- PANY, in July 2018, the Daimler AG Board of Management and Supervisory Board ap- proved the group’s new corporate structure, which is divided into three legally distinct entities – Mercedes-Benz AG for the Cars and Vans divisions, Daimler Truck AG for the Trucks and Buses divisions and Daimler Mobility AG for Daimler Financial Services AG – under the aegis of Daimler AG. b

Jasper Hafkamp, CEO of Daimler Trucks and Buses Southern Africa.

• 3 – The number of legally distinct entities approved as part of Daimler group’s new corporate structure

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS FEBRUARY 2019 38