German truck and bus manufacturer MAN has added support services in the form of a new service centre and a workshop in Kenya and Zambia respectively.

MAN’s resolve to expand into Africa has come after its steady rise in sales across Eastern and Central Africa.
“Our partners have provided a broad network of after-sales presence on the African continent . . . Kenya and Zambia have proven valuable to MAN’s market. With Kenya being the second-largest right-hand-drive market in Africa, we made sure that we have affirmed ourselves in the country. There has been good progress and our market share is increasing year-on-year,” says MAN subequatorial Africa head Robert Clough.

MAN’s new 9 000 m2 facility in Nairobi, valued at R32.5-million, is equipped with two inspection pits, an engine and a pump room, a parts warehouse and extensive office space. The facility offers 12 truck service bays and stocks a wide range of MAN inventory to provide extensive aftermarket service.

“The service facility is situated on the old Mombasa road, which links the country’s capital city with its primary Port of Mombasa, a route that many trucks in Kenya have to use,” Clough notes.

The new modular concept workshop in Lusaka was designed in Germany and opened in October 2015. It is owned by Zambian consortium CLA Lusaka Truck & Bus, which provides the necessary aftermarket services for vehicles travelling through the testing route around the Copperbelt.

“ . . . MAN has several South African customers that regularly travel to Zambia and the Copperbelt of Central Africa. Therefore, it is important that we provide support along the route, and our Lusaka facility is testimony to MAN’s commitment to supporting its customers,” he says.

The modular design concept entails a workshop consisting of four shipping containers with a concrete roof. This allows for quicker workshop construction at a fraction of the cost of regular brick-and-mortar workshops.

The workshop can accommodate four trucks or buses on a rotational basis and is the first of its kind outside Europe. It also forms part of MAN’s 45 dealerships throughout Southern Africa, with fully trained technicians and a genuine parts network.

Clough says MAN also aims to become more prominent in the Angolan market this year: “Angola is definitely a market where we would like to penetrate more aggressively, as we anticipate an increase in the volume of truck and bus sales, as well as parts revenue.”

Widening the Net in Africa

Part of MAN’s success in Africa was the recent One MAN Kann expedition, during which One MAN Kann Marketing Adventure South African adventurer and participant Riaan Manser showcased the flagship Euro 5 MAN TGX 26.540 6 × 4 long-haul truck-tractor, along with MAN’s most experienced long-haul driver Nduna Chari, on a 13 200 km journey across nine African countries in September 2015.

Manser believes that MAN has become well represented in Africa, especially after visiting several newly opened workshops in Zambia, Kenya, Malawi and Namibia during the 53-day journey.

The One MAN Kann journey, which was broadcast on social media platforms YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, showed how Manser and Chari crossed 11 borders to deliver 27 t of mosquito nets to malaria-affected areas on the route. Manser, who received his truck licence only a few days before the journey, says he has new respect for truck drivers.