Local truck assembly on the planning boards

Road hauliers may
soon be able to include
locally made trucks
in their fleets if the
government's plans to
restart local assembly
make it out of the gate.
The Industrial Policy
Action Plan (IPAP)
released in February
this year admits: “The
medium and heavy
commercial vehicle
(MHVC) sector has
not received adequate
policy attention.
“There are
opportunities to
resuscitate bus
production in South
Africa as well other
MHCVs, leveraging
opportunities such
as the roll-out of
Bus Rapid Transport
Systems in Metros and
the growing demand
for other MHCVs in
relation to areas such
as infrastructure,
construction, mining
and possibly
agricultural demand,”
says the report.
This includes a
stronger focus on
so called ‘yellow
metals’ manufacturers
of products such as
articulated dump trucks.