BABCOCK’S Transport Solutions business unit ended the 2019 financial year in impressive form by surpassing its previous sales record of new DAF Trucks in a financial year by 10%.
The business unit continued to keep the wheels turning by selling more trucks in March than the entire first year of trading.
“We had a great run on sales towards the end of our financial year, mainly due to the restructuring of our DAF product range, giving us the ability to offer DAF Trucks into additional market segments and applications,” said Mark Gavin, Sales Director for Babcock’s Transport Solutions business unit.
“During the latter part of 2018, we made significant efforts to increase sales activity, particularly in the Gauteng region. This paid dividends from January to March, with a record number of orders for DAF Trucks received. For the first time in many years, we also received orders from the Western and Eastern Cape markets, after increased sales activity in these regions.”
The DAF range available in southern Africa includes the XF105 for long distance haulage and the CF85 for regional and construction transport.
Dean Temlett, Product Manager for Babcock’s Transport Solutions business unit, said the changes to the product portfolio had been three-fold. “We have introduced some ‘successor’ models and features; tweaked and evolved existing models; and aligned specifications to create a more balanced model mix.
“In the first instance, the ‘successor’ models aim to target both workhorse and premium long-haul market segments by offering products that are optimally fit for purpose. For example, the introduction of the Paccar MX-340 (460hp) engine on the CF85 series meant we could introduce the LEAN and TOUGH spec models, which replace the previous CF85.410 models and the XF105.460 ONROAD spec model.”
Temlett said these models boast the same chassis and driveline as the XF105.460 models, while sporting a slightly narrower and lower roof ‘single-sleeper’ cab – which is ideal for many operations such as outbound logistics in the commodity transport segment where larger cabs might not be necessary.
The smaller cab also means reduced aerodynamic drag, and, consequently, improved fuel consumption on combinations with shallower trailer heights such as flat decks, side-tippers, tankers, etc. These CF85 models have also been trimmed to keep vehicle costs low, while still delivering the exceptional performance and reliability of the XF105 models.
“Conversely, an XF105.510 FTT Super Space cab POWER model was introduced to target the upper premium segment, where clients value the ultra-spacious Super Space cab with all the bells and whistles, while introducing the Paccar MX-375 (510hp) Euro 5 SCR engine for higher performance and productivity purposes,” said Temlett.
“This is essentially our new flagship model that supersedes the previous XF105.460 Super Space cab model launched in 2018, as we are confident that our target audience will be eager to also have it with the extra power under foot. The engine also makes use of a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and AdBlue system to treat the exhaust gas in order to achieve Euro 5 emission levels, which is an extra feather in the cap for these transporters to relay to their customers.”
This model also includes Alcoa aluminium rims and advanced active safety equipment.
