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SCANIA SOUTH AFRICA was named "top heavy duty vehicle exporter" last year and it set to keep a firm grip on this position, according to managing director Ulf Grevesmühl. 

He says Scania SA has broken a number of records for the sale of trucks and buses in 2004. "The highlight is a new benchmark of 1000 trucks and buses sold within the South African and sub-Saharan markets served by Scania SA. 

"This is double the volume we achieved in 2001 and represents a significant strengthening of our presence in markets beyond South Africa’s borders – such as Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the southern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo," he says. 

These regions make up the spokes of a "hub" which has its centre in Johannesburg, at Scania’s head office, central warehouse and assembly plant complex in Aeroton. 

The motivation for Scania SA’s expansion into Africa was the growing cross-border traffic being experienced throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Scania’s subsequent success in this region is attributable to the suitability of its trucks and buses to the tough tasks and often-harsh operating conditions experienced by operators in the region. 

Turning to the local market, Grevesmühl says Scania has strengthen its position at home in 2004 with approximately 14% market share of the heavy duty truck sector – a commanding share that is up from 11% a year ago. 

"This is within the parameters of our business model and follows our achievements in  expanding our footprint in South Africa through the opening of wholly owned branches. 

"In addition to our established outlets in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Kimberley, last year we successfully opened new operations on the East Rand, in Richards Bay and, now, in Bloemfontein. We have also commissioned a Scania Service Centre in Middleburg."

He says every new branch opened in South Africa has furthered the objectives of Scania SA, among which is the emphasis of its service and support infrastructure. In line with this, Scania has established a "mobile workshop" to handle in- transit callouts from local customers and has partnered with like-minded organisations to successfully launch eight new Authorised Service workshops throughout the "hub" - the latest being in Kitwe in Zambia. 

For Scania, the training and skilling of its growing workforce has been a major objective and an upgraded and comprehensively equipped Training Centre has been established at its headquarters in Johannesburg. Here, employees from Scania branches as well as third-party service facilities and customer workshops are exposed to the latest trends and techniques of vehicle maintenance as applied by Scania in Sweden. 

With reference to the South African economy, Grevesmühl says the strengthening rand and falling interest rates will continue to help stabilise vehicle prices and spur demand for the continued modernisation of transport fleets. 

"There is every indication that the market will be buoyant in 2005 and sales will continue to climb," he notes. Looking to the future, Grevesmühl says the on-going need to address fuel efficiency will be paramount. 

"With oil having breached the $50 per barrel mark in 2004, fuel cost is becoming a major concern of the transport operator for whom it is, by far, the biggest operating expense.

 "Transport operators – our customers – are keenly aware of the cost of operating trucks and buses over long distances and extended periods. They recognise that  ‘total operating cost’ is a key purchasing criterion – and not simply the ‘showroom price’ of the new vehicle. "Fuel efficiency and round-trip performance are important factors in this equation," he concludes.