Volvo promises big things to come

As Volvo Trucks celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, and the Volvo FH its 25th, Volvo Group Southern Africa is setting out to achieve bigger and better things in the local market.

The company is celebrating its FH as being the “most sold truck in South Africa, according to 2017 Naamsa sales figures”, says new Group vice president, Marcus Hörberg. (You can read our exclusive interview with Hörberg in the upcoming Issue 10 of FOCUS.)

The company aims to augment this good performance by plugging market gaps and increasing its performance in key sectors, such as mining, while expanding its vehicle offering. This will also include the addition of the brand’s third-generation of safety features to its vehicles.

According to sales director, Malcolm Gush, sales of vehicles with the brand’s safety packages account for 30 percent of total sales; a figure that is growing. “Very few customers don’t want these features anymore, because they’re looking at how to keep uptime by preventing accidents. We’re moving fast to offer it on all our trucks; it is currently only available on vehicles fitted with air suspension and the Electronic Braking System. From next year, it will feature on trucks fitted with drum brakes as well.

“Volvo is gearing up for the 2019 introduction of the third generation of safety features – which function with Volvo Dynamic Steering to aid counter steering in a skid and support the driver in crosswinds,” Gush comments.

Hörberg is quick to note, however, that it is not only product enhancements that customers can look forward to. “The products are becoming more similar, but service is where we can differentiate ourselves. We need to build trust with our customers and there are many ways we can do that,” he comments.

Last year, the company invested R15 million into its operations, and established the Volvo Financial Solutions division. Next year, it will invest R37 million, some of which will include a state-of-the-art, sustainable workshop in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal, geared for the end of 2019. It will also launch a new Durban Truck Centre with an investment of R146 million.

The workshop will also be set up for the servicing of trailers. “Wherever we do site upgrades, or build new premises, we will provide for trailer servicing,” says Hörberg. This will also include the upcoming “modular operations”, which will see remote/mobile Volvo sites created from containers.

“Our ambition is to be a one-stop shop. We might even move into minor-accident body repairs beyond 2020,” he alludes.

“Our aim is to make our customers more efficient and more successful. They need the best-quality service, best-trained mechanics, high levels of parts availability and high-quality workshops. We aim to be the leaders in customer satisfaction,” Hörberg says.

Other initiatives include the continuation of the “Stop, look and wait” training for children, where Grade R to Grade 3 learners from less-privileged schools are taught how to act and react in traffic, as well as how to interact with vehicles.

For the older “children” among us, driver training is a key aspect of the brand’s future, too. “We started this year with the Volvo Driving Academy and next year we will expand the programme to attract more women to the industry. Women are more responsible drivers and we aim to save the operators costs by training women drivers for them. Responsible drivers also save lives on the road,” Hörberg comments.

“There are exciting times ahead for the industry. Volvo considers South Africa an emerging market with great potential. Despite the difficult economic and political climate, I see potential for growth. This will not be enormous, but the market will be OK. As Volvo, we have not yet utilised our full potential in this market,” he comments.

We know we won’t be the only ones to watch the company’s future endeavours…