South Korean commercial vehicle brand Daewoo Trucks is steadily making a comeback in the South Africa market.

Daewoo Trucks has been on sale in South Africa since 2004, but in earlier years failed to make a significant impact, owing largely to poor parts availability and after-sales service, says Tata Africa Holdings CEO Len Brand.

“The brand died a slow death in South Africa, until two years ago when we decided to bring Daewoo back to the country.”

The current local vehicle parc of Daewoo trucks is estimated at about 6 000 units.

Indian conglomerate Tata acquired Daewoo Trucks in 2004.

Daewoo truck sales in South Africa started anew about 18 months ago, reaching 193 units in year one, which runs from April 1 to the end of March, says Brand.

Tata Africa also sells Daewoo Trucks in 11 other sub-Saharan countries. The trucks are locally assembled in South Africa and Kenya.

This year the aim is to sell 600 trucks, notes Brand.

South Africa will be responsible for around a third of this number, with a target of 500 to 600 units a year for the local market in the future.

“I think I could have set a higher target for this year if we had more capacity at the South African plant,” says Brand.

The other big African markets are Nigeria, Zambia and Côte d’Ivoire.

Daewoo trucks are benefitting from the trust South Africans have developed in other South Korean vehicle brands, such as Hyundai and Kia, adds Brand.

He says Daewoo’s second run at the local market is already proving more successful than the first, with “the right systems in place to keep the product on the road”.

Parts availability has, for example, increased from around 75% to 92%.

Service and spare parts outlets have also increased from 37 to 91 in South Africa, with a further 60 in Africa.

There are currently 30 sales, service and spare parts dealerships in South Africa.

Sales floors are split between Tata Trucks and Buses and Daewoo Trucks, as are the service technicians at the dealerships.

Brand does not believe Daewoo trucks are cannabalising Tata sales in the domestic market, as the Korean brand currently focuses solely on extra-heavy duty trucks.

However, the ambition is to expand the Daewoo range further.

In order to cater for increased demand, Tata Africa is investing R2.5-million in its Rosslyn truck assembly plant, which produces both Tata and Daewoo trucks.

This injection will increase capacity from between 900 and 1 000 units a year, to 1 500 units, says Brand.

He expects Tata Africa to sell between 900 to 1 000 Tata trucks in South Africa this year.

He adds that the company is well advanced in setting up its own financial arm to assist customers in buying Tata and Daewoo commercial vehicles. A pilot operation in Tanzania is already proving successful.  

The newest Daewoo truck to make its debut in South Africa is the Maximus KL3TX. The Maximus uses the combination of a 480 hp Cummins engine, which produces 2 509 Nm of torque, with either an Eaton or ZF AMT transmission and an Eaton rear axle.