Founded in 1972, Daewoo Trucks Korea started as a manufacturer of heavy and extra heavy duty commercial vehicles in technical collaboration with General Motors.
In 2004 the company became a part of the $110 bn Indian multinational conglomerate Tata Group.
The first heavy duty Daewoo Novus Truck was launched into the South African market in 2005. Over the years, Daewoo Trucks started assembly in South Africa, Kenya, Algeria and Nigeria in Africa and Pakistan, Russia, the Philippines and Vietnam among others.
Tata Africa, a subsidiary of Tata International, started distribution of Daewoo Trucks into the African continent with Tata Automobile Corporation South Africa being the very first country to launch the range in 2005.
Truck range
Daewoo Trucks manufactures long distance haulage, construction and cargo trucks of GVMs ranging between 15 tons to 100 tons. Maximus and Novus are the two lines of products comprising the above. Daewoo Trucks have been known to have over a million km life. Durability, reliability and economy of operation are some of the established traits of the brand. Together with Tata Africa, maximum uptime is a demonstrated strength.
Daewoo Maximus
The Daewoo Maximus is a fit-for-purpose Truck Tractor, with the KL3TX model offering two versions, depending on client needs – one with a Cummins engine and Eaton Transmission and the other with a Cummins Engine and ZF Transmission combination – both in AMT guise.
The Cummins power plant delivers 480HP and 2509 Nm of torque ensuring effortless and frugal performance.
Further enhancing the Korean quality assurance and value, is the European styled and extremely comfortable De-Luxe Cabin, contributing to even further driver productivity
Since 2018 various customers had the opportunity to experience the Daewoo Maximus range with positive feedback received from all.
Daewoo Novus
The Daewoo Novus range comprises of the newly launched Daewoo Novus K7CEF 6x4 Freight Carrier, Daewoo Novus K5DEF 6x4 Tipper, and the Daewoo Novus K5MVF 6x4 Mixer.
With the highest permissible Gross Combination Mass (GCM) rating of 56 000kg in its category as well as the lowest tare weight, and longest wheelbase in the segment, the Daewoo Novus K7CEF Freight Carrier is something of an all-rounder.
The Doosan DE12TI inline 6-cylinder turbo diesel engine is familiar to the South African transport industry, and engine capacity (11.1 –litre) surpasses all local Euro II segment competitors. This translates to a class leading (Euro II) peak torque figure of 1 324Nm at 1 260 r/pm and 340 HP (250kW) @ 2 100 r/pm. The transmission is a 10-speed manual transmission to ensure maximum fuel efficiency and ease of operation.
A modern, European-inspired sleeper cabin comes standard, as does an air-suspended seat for the driver, creating a functional, comfortable operating environment and further bolstering it’s medium to long-haul credentials.
With the Daewoo Novus K5DEF 6x4 Tipper, productivity is key.
Faster trip times coupled with faster tip times – that’s just one of the reasons why Jamil Saley, Operations Director of SedBuild, a Vereeniging-based company involved in road construction and other civil engineering work across South Africa, recommends Daewoo’s Novus K5DEF tipper.
“In my experience, the Daewoo is easy to maintain - It’s a profitable truck, Service centres are close to areas in which we operate – and if anything goes wrong we have peace of mind that technicians will be on site quickly. We’re very happy with the aftersales service we’ve received.”
Quick rise to success
After the successful introduction of Daewoo Trucks in South Africa, the range was also launched through a subsidiary company to markets in Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa during 2009. Within five years, the brand established itself as a premium market contender in East Africa. Daewoo Trucks quickly became one of the top three brands in this region in the new vehicle sales category.
The brand was received very favorably in Kenya and Tanzania and was soon launched in Uganda, Zambia and West Africa (Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Senegal) in 2018.
From inception, Daewoo Trucks have sold in excess of 6 000 vehicles in the African continent through retail channels, export efforts, as well as Government departments, making it a truly African Commercial vehicle.
Premium product offering
The vehicle range offers high-end, durable, fit for purpose products with some models incorporating an American driveline and all models featuring European styling & comfort. The Daewoo range has proven its worth with salient features such as comfort, ergonomics, safety, reliability, ease of operation and durability at a lower lifecycle cost. Daewoo Trucks is committed to minimise downtime, decrease maintenance cost and to ensure that customer requirements and expectations are met and exceeded.
Best in class, lowest in maintenance
Daewoo commercial vehicles offer an excellent range of products for all operations based on individual country/applications with suitable products engineered and adapted for relevant markets. The range offers excellent life-cycle costs/lowest cost of ownership, outstanding driving and handling capabilities with powerful and durable power train options; as well as superior hauling and carrying capabilities specifically built to withstand rugged African conditions. Add to this superb comfort and convenience to help lessen driver fatigue to further enhance safety of driver and carriage.
It is all about uptime
With a network offering parts availability and maintenance spanning from Durban in South Africa to the Congo in West Africa, Daewoo guarantees excellent uptime with statistics showing an uptime of up to 95 percent. The product range is effortlessly maintained by highly qualified technical personnel well appointed with the knowledge, tools and equipment for quick diagnostics, with extremely competitive maintenance costs helping fleet owners with low cost of ownership. Excellent and efficient parts availability as well as cross-border warranty and support ensure that downtime is kept to a minimum so that the wheels of fleet owners keep turning.
Adding to the complete peace of mind, and customer centric after-sales solutions, Daewoo Truck owners can rest assured that 91 touch points has been established on all major transport routes in Southern Africa with service and breakdown support available 24/7. For the cross border customers travelling up in Africa, the total network extends to 150 touch points, offering service and warranty support.
In addition, Daewoo Trucks offers free training at its training school in Johannesburg for mechanical and technical personnel. Dedicated driver training is also offered, which is vital for drivers of Daewoo trucks. This training ensures safe, efficient driving combined with enhanced vehicle knowledge for reduced lifecycle costs.
Into the future
Daewoo Trucks South Africa is committed to continue the great tradition of offering products that the customer needs with the desired specification levels, that offer low cost of ownership, are durable, comfortable to drive, safe for both drivers and payloads, and ensuring maximum uptime with after-sales, training and parts availability programs that are above industry standards, thus ensuring maximum “uptime”
