“Customers have become ever more convinced of the inherent value-for- money FAW provides to their business, and it is therefore no surprise that our vehicles have been very popular in the agricultural sector.”
“High-quality manufacture, yet simple in design; high levels of performance; and economical to operate – this is what FAW commercial vehicles offer,” says Cheng Zhang, Marketing and Strategy Manager, and spokesperson for FAW Vehicle Manufacturers SA. “At Nampo we showcased a selection of our range of highly affordable trucks.”
On display were:
• FAW’s lowest-cost- per-tonne medium truck, the 8.140FL introduced in 2015;
• the well-priced FAW15.180FL with a drop-side body;
• the 28.280FD tipper;
• the 28.330FL with a cattle body; and
• the FAW 28.380FT truck tractor.
“These trucks were selected specially for the farming community to show how well-suited FAW is in providing this sector with optimum vehicle performance while simultaneously keeping cost of ownership and running costs at an all-time low,” says Zhang.
Two of FAW’s best sellers – the FAW 8.140FL and the FAW 15.180FL – were also centre-stage to demonstrate exactly why these vehicles have gained such high acceptance levels in their respective market segments.
“This is the 15th time that FAW has participated at NAMPO, demonstrating our commitment to the farming community. We’ve recognised the patronage and loyal support of the multitude of agricultural customers who have, over the past 22 years that FAW has been present here, remained committed to our brand,” says Zhang.
The number of FAW trucks sold in the sub-Saharan region has grown exponentially since the opening of the Coega-based plant in 2014. Many southern African customers are buying locally produced vehicles because of the obvious cost benefits and the opportunity to purchase well-engineered trucks, some modified to meet specific regional conditions.
The advantages of ‘buying local’ abound. These include - the shorter lead-time for delivery; the internationally recognised, high quality levels maintained in the South African plant; and the reduced cost of sourcing FAW vehicles here.
Cheng Zhang explains: “There are many advantages of sourcing FAW products from our South African base – the most important being time-to-market in the African countries, and of course for the SADC and AU, the added advantage which comes from the import/export duty agreements,” he adds.
The NAMPO Harvest Day held annually at Bothaville in the Free State has been attracting not only local agricultural role players, but also many visitors with an agricultural interest from across the entire continent and from other continents, specifically South America and Asia.
FAW’s Zhang affirms this: “We are delighted with the growing number of visitors to our annual NAMPO exhibition.”
Grain SA’s NAMPO Harvest Day is reportedly the largest collection of agricultural exhibitions under private ownership in the southern Hemisphere. According to their website the NAMPO Harvest Day enables the agricultural industry to experience first-hand and on one terrain, the latest technology and products on offer in the farming industry.
