The sub-Saharan Africa arm of the Japanese commercial vehicle manufacturer UD Trucks, UD Trucks Southern Africa (UDTSA), announced its plans to bring sustainable transport solutions to the South African transport and logistics sectors at a press conference in February.

The company will enhance operational performance and productivity by maintaining best practices at its nationwide dealer networks, ensure “fit-for-purpose” products and aftermarket service for customers, and provide original-equipment manufacturers with “excellent” support, UDTSA president Filip Van den Heede said at the time.

The company will also ensure that uptime for customers continues to improve, which will, in turn, maximise their productivity and profitability, in addition to increasing its focus on product development to meet market requirements.

“At UDTSA, we continue to challenge ourselves with product development and future mobility solutions to cater directly to customers’ business requirements and industry’s demanding safety and environmental standards with modern technologies,” said Van den Heede.

He suggested that the company’s range of Euro 5 engine trucks were becoming the “go-to” solutions for business fleets and transport in South Africa, as they offered more environment-friendly medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

“Our aim is to be our customers’ ultimate business partner to help them move their businesses forward. It is for this reason that, as a brand, we constantly review our local product range in line with customer business requirements,” said UDTSA sales director Esaia Taunyane.

The range of Euro 5 trucks would enable logistics and transport industry players to access solutions that could improve their organisations’ environmental, social and governance goals, as the Euro 5 engines would reduce the vehicles’ carbon footprint while improving fuel-efficiency.

“UDTSA’s Euro 5 range features Selective Catalytic Reduction technology to significantly boost environmental protection and fuel economy. [The] technology has proven to be more reliable when compared with other emission control technologies,” he added.

Operational Efficiency

UDTSA’s trucks are equipped with essential components designed to enhance operational efficiency in the “ever-challenging” South African market.

The company strives to produce dependable trucks with “a high level of fuel efficiency, drivability, durability and safety”.

The trucks are equipped with durable components to ensure ease-of-use for drivers, as well as safety features to facilitate the safe transportation of goods and driver wellbeing. Taunyane cited the company’s fuel- efficient Quon Euro 5 truck range as an example of these modern technologies and safety features.

He cited the emergency brake signal, improved driver alert system, improved traffic eye brake system with vulnerable road user detection and the traffic eye cruise control that is equipped with a stop and auto-go feature as some of the range’s features.

UDTSA also enables fleet operators to monitor driver behaviour and vehicle health using its fleet management solution – Connected Services.

Maximising Uptime

UDTSA aftermarket director Sanjay Naipal believes that aftermarket solutions are essential to maintain good business relationships, as they help to ensure that customers’ operations are not negatively affected by costly repairs and downtime.

During the event, he stressed the importance of having parts readily available for all UDTSA truck models at the warehouse and more especially at a dealership level.

This enables the company to easily access parts for customers, consequently facilitating planned downtime for scheduled maintenance and reducing the effects of unplanned downtime or breakdowns. “Maximising uptime and minimising downtime remain at the core for customers, ensuring they avoid unexpected interruptions and costly repairs with vehicles spending more time on the road driving business success and less time in the workshop,” he said.

Meanwhile, with road safety being a major concern, “UDTSA places a strong emphasis on driver training to ensure customers derive maximum value from their vehicles,” Van den Heede told Engineering News.

In 2024, the company expanded its partnership with professional body for transport training Commercial Transport Academy (CTA) by donating a UD Croner PKE 280 65-seater bus to the organisation following the launch of the CTA Bus Driver Development Programme.

The programme will train 30 women to operate the bus efficiently and safely, ensuring the safety of both drivers and passengers, while also supporting the long-term reliability and care of the vehicle.

Van den Heede said UDTSA will continue to positively contribute to the South African transport and logistics sector, adding that, “as we gear up to the remarkable future, we remain dedicated to the success of the Southern Africa region and going the extra mile to provide our customers with ultimate dependability for the next 90 years”.