Volvo Trucks Southern Africa has increased Volvo truck sales by 6% in 2017, from 1 957 units in 2016, to 2 074 units in 2017.

Volvo trucks secured a third sport in the South Africa heavy-duty commercial vehicle segment in 2017, the only segment in which it competes.

Locally, the Volvo Group sells the Volvo Trucks, Volvo Bus, Volvo Penta, as well as the UD Trucks brand.

Part of Volvo Trucks’ success in the local new-truck market last year – which dropped by 2.65% – was driven by a renewed focus on customer satisfaction.

Volvo Trucks Southern Africa concluded 2017 as the commercial vehicle brand with the top customer satisfaction rating in the industry-wide Scott Beyers survey. 

Volvo Trucks moved up from a combined third position, with a rating of 97.87% in 2015, to the top spot in 2017 with a 98.51% rating. 

“Over the past two years, we have made a concerted effort to make our customers our top priority,” says Volvo Group Southern Africa president Torbjörn Christensson.

Volvo Trucks has 25 dealerships across Southern Africa, with a new site opened in Zambia during 2017. 

New facilities are also being developed in Port Elizabeth, which will be fully operational during the first half of the year.

The company also plans to upgrade its facilities in Durban during 2018.

Buses, Engines
On the Volvo Bus side, deliveries in the local market increased by 1% in 2017, to 61 units. 

Locally, Volvo Bus introduced two new models in South Africa, the 9411R and B8R, with Volvo Bus now holding a 34% share of the rear engine bus vehicle segment. 

Volvo Penta, the supplier of engines and power solutions for marine and industrial applications, experienced the most profitable year in its history. 

With sales split 50/50 between marine and industry segments, orders increased by 17% and deliveries by 11%, to a total of 704 units for 2017. 

“In South Africa, Volvo Penta has secured a 50% market share of the local industry power generation segment, with robust growth in industries such as mining, construction, dewatering and agriculture,” says Christensson. “Volvo Penta also achieved record uptime hours in the underground mining segment, confirming its dominance in this segment.”

On a global level, Volvo Group achieved its highest sales and operating income in history in 2017. For the full year, the company grew its net sales by 11% to SEK 335-billion, improving operating profit to SEK 30.3-billion.

Looking ahead, the Volvo Group expects accelerated development in the transportation industry in the next ten years, compared with what was achieved during the past three decades. 

“In the automotive industry, there is a focus on specifically three big technology trends, namely connectivity, vehicle automation and electromobility,” explains Christensson. “As we speak, some of these once futuristic technologies are in the process of becoming a reality in cities across the world.”

In Singapore, 50 Volvo Bus hybrid units were put in operation and the company is also in the process of testing electric autonomous buses in that country.

Volvo Trucks has also announced that it would begin selling fully electric trucks in the European markets in 2019. These will be medium-duty vehicles aimed at urban distribution operations.

SA Debut
Later this year, Volvo Trucks Southern Africa will introduce Dual Clutch I-Shift transmissions for Euro 3 engines locally. This technology has been available for Euro 5 and 6 markets in Europe for some time already.

“The dual clutch transmission provides seamless gear shifting to give uninterrupted acceleration. So, the vehicle does not lose any speed during gear changes. This is especially advantageous in areas where there are a lot of curves and hills, where many gear shifts are required,” says Christensson.

Volvo Group has also invested SEK 1-million in the establishment of a new driver academy in South Africa. 

“This new training facility will be aimed specifically at unemployed truck drivers, where they will have the opportunity to update and hone their knowledge and skills. This database of highly qualified drivers will then be made available to our fleet owners to address the great shortage of skilled truck drivers in the industry,” notes Christensson.

The training, which is scheduled to start in March, will involve a year-long learnership.

Looking at the year ahead, Volvo aims to increase truck sales by 5% in South Africa and other African countries.