Fuso assembly at the East London plant
Daimler Trucks & Buses Southern Africa (DT&B SA), a member of Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA), has started local assembly of the FA 9-137 truck at MBSA’s East London plant.
The truck was previously imported from India as a fully built-up unit.
The assembly of this vehicle adds to the assembly of Fuso trucks imported from Japan.
Local assembly of the FJ 16-230 truck will follow at the end of May, and production of the new kid on the block, the FJ 26-280C, at the end of June, says Fuso Trucks Southern Africa (FTSA) head Naeem Hassim.
Both these vehicles are also sourced from India.
FTSA is a subsidiary of DT&B SA.
“It was always our intent, as we expanded the Fuso range [with trucks sourced from India] in 2015, to make the vehicles here,” says Hassim.
He notes that there is also a duty benefit attached to local assembly, with import duties on fully built-up imports at 20%, compared with 0% for locally assembled units.
MBSA invested more than R3-million into the East London plant to ensure it was ready for the increase in Fuso completely knock-down (CKD) production.
The potential exists to export Fuso trucks into the rest of Africa, although there is no such plan on the table at the moment, adds Hassim.
Daimler India Commercial Vehicles VP Felix Homburg says South Africa will become the biggest volume market for CKD assembly within the Fuso group.
MBSA’s East London truck and bus plant currently operates at 50% capacity, producing around 24 units a day, on a single shift.
Production traditionally consisted of 5% bus assembly, 25% Fuso assembly and 70% Mercedes-Benz assembly. However, an increase in demand for Fuso products will see this ratio change to 40% Fuso units and 60% Mercedes-Benz units.
Market Share
MBSA sold between 1 500 and 2 000 Fuso trucks in South Africa last year, says DT&B SA executive director Jasper Hafkamp.
“We would like to expand the brand in South Africa, doubling its market share by 2020, compared with 2015.”
With MBSA not reporting detailed sale figures, Hafkamp notes only that he would like to see “a double-digit market share” in 2020.
“We are convinced we can make it happen.”
One of the pathways to growth is to expand the Fuso range in South Africa.
The newest addition to the range, launched in May, is the FJ 26-280C, aimed at the construction sector.
The FJ 26-280C joins a line-up of mostly distribution trucks in the locally available Fuso range.
The FJ 26-280C has a 6.4 l direct-injection diesel engine, producing 205 kW of power at 2 200 rpm, with the torque levelling out at 1 100 Nm between 1 200 rpm to 1600 rpm.
The workhorse, equally useful as a tipper or cement mixer, also has a nine-speed transmission with a crawler gear that provides the flexibility required to negotiate off-road terrain.
Pricing starts at R925 000, excluding VAT.
The FJ 26-280C is on sale in more than 25 countries, and have sold more than 10 000 units.
Still Positive
Hafkamp says he views the truck market in South Africa as a “glass half full”, with local sales up 3% in the first four months of the year compared with last year, this despite the current political turmoil.
This shows that “customers are still investing in trucks”.