South Africa’s CV market is maintaining it double-digit growth. According to this report, which quotes from the official National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) figures, both the medium and heavy-duty sectors continue to soar.
NAAMSA numbers show that medium commercial vehicle sales increased 16 per cent to 1309 units, compared with October last year. Sales of heavy-duty trucks and buses jumped 24.7 per cent.
On a year-to-date basis, medium commercial vehicles sales rose 19.1 per cent ahead of the corresponding first 10 months of 2005, whilst the heavy-duty sector saw growth of 23.8 per cent higher compared with last year’s first 10 months.
Tata and Askok Leyland have both indicated plans to increase their activities within South Africa, using it as a base to push out through the rest of the continent. Iran Khodro Diesel has also moved to exploit growth within the region, and is planning assembly facilities in Sudan, Senegal and Ethiopia, whilst Saipa Diesel is looking to export Iranian built Volvo products into a number of African markets. At a more macro-political level, Iran also seems to be getting increasingly interested in Turkey - another country prominent on the Indian OEMs' radar.

Email the Author