Currency devaluation depresses heavy truck sales in SA

The devaluation of currency in some oil-dependent southern African countries has caused sales in their respective heavy-trucks markets to slump.

Volvo Group Southern Africa president Torbjörn Christensson, said, "The South African heavy-truck market has declined by about 6 per cent this year. But in Angola we are fighting over the 6 per cent of the market that is left."

He said previously, the group had been selling around 800 heavy trucks a year in Angola, but the figure had fallen to just 30 trucks this year.

By contrast, Christensson said he saw Ethiopia as the fastest growing economy globally, in terms of its gross domestic product (GDP).

"Our plan,” said Christensson, “is for 70 per cent of our sales to be in South Africa and 30 per cent outside South Africa. The growing part is outside South Africa."

Adding that he believed the commercial market in 2016 would remain flat, he said, "The underlying need for transport is more going down than going up. But if you look at south-east Africa sales outside South Africa, it is becoming strong."