Canopies: A vital part of any new bakkie

Not only has the volume of bakkies sold more or less remained consistent over the years, but the industry saw a consolidation of canopy manufacturers operating in this space. In recent years, the upswing in demand for metal canopies, especially for overlanders, away from the traditional fibre glass canopy, was notable.

“The market size for canopies remains unchanged; the challenge lies in distributing the same share among the competitors in the industry,” says Derek Caldicott (photo), Managing Director of Andy Cab Canopies, one of the larger manufacturers of this essential bakkie accessory, with its head office in Cape Town.

“People might think that with the increased number of bigger bakkies we all see around us, it means the canopy business is a booming one. It is not. Over the years, we have lost a lot of the high volume bakkies like the Ford Bantam, Opel Corsa/Chev Utility and more recently the demise of the Nissan NP200 bakkie.

“Although the current bakkie market might be more resilient against the ups and downs of monthly new vehicle sales, growth means taking market share from a competitor instead of an expanding market,” he tells Dealerfloor.

Derek says Andy Cab remains focused on fibre glass canopies at this stage. “The arrival of metal canopies has had an impact on our market share. The canopy business, in general, also changed from a cash business model over time to one where the canopy is financed as part of the vehicle-buying transaction.

“Today we rely on independent fitment centres with which we have agreements, and our products also feature on most OEMs’ inventories as options for bakkies. We do have our own fitment centre in the Cape at our factory and a distribution hub in Gauteng. Logistics plays a significant part in our operations, getting the supply to fitment centres throughout the country,” he says.

Derek tells Dealerfloor that the fitment centres function as a one-stop shop for all bakkie-related accessories and these independently owned businesses have agreements with a wide variety of accessory suppliers, one of which is canopies, to make the accessory fitting process easier for the customer. The addition of a polyurethane bakkie liner (commonly called rubberising) to the load bin is the most popular when a canopy is bought.

Derek says smaller players find it more difficult in the industry due to the capital input required for manufacturing. “Each bakkie brand, and the different body styles like single, double or extended cab, has its own mould, and the tooling is expensive.

“Before deciding to produce a mould one needs to determine if the demand for that specific bakkie will justify the investment of a mould. With a number of new players, especially from China entering the local bakkie market, the investment requirements on canopy manufacturers are onerous,” Derek says.

As with anything else, he warns customers to make sure that they buy a reputable brand, as quality, warranty and longevity play a very important role. “With canopies ranging from R15 000 to R50 000, getting the right product from an established brand with the necessary back-up service is crucial, and in the end, it is the little things that can make a big difference to the customer experience,” he noted.