2004 Truck Sales Up 25%
Volvo has been a dynamic industry force in 2004 in the heavy truck market. Volvo Truck sales are up 25% on 2003 sales. This growth can in part be attributed to providing customers vehicles that are keenly specified for certain applications and the positive effective of introducing high technology new vehicles with extended warranties and reduced risk and downtime with increased productivity; key issues for any transport operator. 

Volvo Rear-Engine Buses in Demand
In the Bus sector Volvo has a market share of 27% and ranks second. The B7R chassis has proved to be a very popular choice in commuter operations whilst the B12R is ideal for luxury touring applications. The new generation rear engine bus chassis are quieter and more comfortable for passengers and driver and the operator will benefit from better fuel consumption and economical maintenance costs. 

Aftermarket Expansion 
Volvo has delivered on their policy of establishing wholly owned sales, service and parts facilities in strategic and important hubs in the web of transport routes throughout the country. Pinetown and Empangeni are to be brought back in-house from early 2005 and the new Cape Town premises are well under construction. In Botswana, Francistown has now opened a facility to service crossborder transport activities. Production and sales of new trucks and buses continues in Gaborone. Volvo’s other branches and service agents in South Africa can be found in Polokwane, Middelburg. Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Beaufort West, George and Port Elizabeth. A new sales and service facility has been opened by Auto Sueco in Windhoek, Namibia. 

Training and Education 
On a recent visit to South Africa, Jorma Halonen, then President and CEO Volvo Truck Corporation and now Senior Vice President of AB Volvo Group stated, "There are no short-cuts, you can only make the use of opportunities through education." And education is what it takes to keep abreast of the rapidly advancing transport technology on offer. 

"We are committed to providing a high standard of training to go along with our top quality range of products in this market," adds Danny Abiri, Managing Director of the local Volvo operation.

 Volvo considers the need for training to be ongoing and  necessary. Products are constantly changing, South Africa is a first world heavy duty transport market with the latest Volvo models introduced almost simultaneously as they appear in Europe and driving practices need to evolve and adapt to technological innovations. And as one of Volvo’s core values, safety is always a top priority issue.

The Volvo Training Department, established in early 2004, is in full stride providing both customer staff and Volvo employees tailored training modules in soft skills for administrators and industry specific skills for drivers, technicians, apprentice diesel mechanics and auto electricians. "It is key that Volvo vehicles are maintained to the highest standards, whether the maintenance is done at our own Volvo branches or at customer workshops," says Abiri. 

A Global Leader with reliable transport solutions Volvo is the world’s largest heavy-duty engine manufacturer and second largest producer of heavy trucks. We create reliable transport solutions for clients all over the world - without ever compromising the safety and environmental care that we carefully build into each of our products. 

The South African operation mirrors the global truck business concept by offering customers competitive transport solutions. These include the wide range of quality product, committed aftersales services, 24 hour Volvo Action Service to assist in the event of a breakdown, vehicle maintenance packages, technical and driver training and assistance with financial package options. 

Volvo FM12