FAW Trucks celebrated in February 2022 a major milestone in its local history as the 8,000th locally assembled unit rolled out of its Coega manufacturing plant, just short of eight years after the production trial period commenced in May 2014.
The very first unit off the line in 2014 was a 15.180FL, but the 2022 honour befell the newly introduced JH6 28.500FT, the flagship in the current local line-up.
FAW Trucks took the top spot in the Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) segment of the local market for the first time in the first quarter of 2021 and continues to maintain its strong sales performance in a highly competitive environment. This success can largely be attributed to a dedicated and strategically located dealer network, a reliable and consistent parts supply, and a continuing expansion of product offerings.
Funded by the China FAW Group Corporation and the China-Africa Development Fund, the Coega facility was built at a cost of R600m ($39m) and spans 30,000m². Run by Plant Manager Peng Lei, staff members are employed in the Production, Technical & Quality, Operations & Supply Chain, Finance, and Human Resources Departments.
All units arrive in South Africa in completely knocked-down form and are then assembled at Coega.