Daimler Truck SA acquires Sandown Motor Holdings

Effective from 01 January 2023, the acquisition of SMH forms part of the global entity’s split and is all-encompassing the Sandown Commercial Vehicle Centurion business operations.

This is a move that represents a milestone investment for DTSA in 2022 and comes into play precisely one year after the company officially became a completely independent and wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG (DTAG).

The acquisition creates a natural expansion to the DTSA group of companies’ local structure, and with its strong presence and extensive footprint, the company is well-poised to continue to meet the steadily growing market demands of the region.

SMH, with its 40-year heritage in South Africa, has been a leading distributor of progressive passenger and commercial vehicles across the region. Through its flagship commercial vehicles dealership, Sandown Commercial Vehicles Centurion, the company offers full mobility solutions on Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Vans, and Buses, as well as FUSO Trucks.

Trusted by fleet owners nationwide, the dealership provides world-class workmanship and the full spectrum of After-Sales and Parts support through its impressive facility and dedicated staff. As one of South Africa’s leading commercial vehicle retailers, Sandown’s customer-focused and innovative sales and service offerings continue to drive the company forward, as it enters 2023 as an Own Retail division of DTSA.

Commenting on the acquisition of SMH, Michael Dietz, President & CEO Daimler Truck Southern Africa, said: “We are tremendously pleased to welcome SMH and its team of experts on board. This is a massive turning point in deepening our local operations, where we see opportunities for growth to better serve our customers.”

DTSA, as one of the leading commercial vehicles manufacturers, has been cultivating a solid reputation through successfully serving major markets in Southern Africa namely, South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The company has a comprehensive local business set-up which includes Sales and Marketing, Customer Service & Parts (CSP), Own Retail, Manufacturing Plant, and Value-added services that include TruckStore, FleetBoard, Mercedes-Benz Uptime, Service24h, TruckParts and FUSO Value Parts (FVP).

Additional to its robust structure, DTSA also has a dedicated captive financial and mobility service entity – Daimler Truck Financial Services South Africa (DTFS), which plays a fundamental role in driving sales with tailor-made financing, leasing and mobility solutions.

Lastly, DTSA operates one of Southern Africa’s largest dealership networks with a total of 40 authorised outlets, representing all its leading brands: Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Mercedes-Benz Buses, and FUSO Trucks. This also includes supporting parts and services for Freightliner and Western Star Trucks.

• This development follows an announcement earlier in 2022 that Mercedes-Benz South Africa Limited (MBSA) was to dispose of the passenger car business of its Gauteng West own retail operations, as well as a portion of commercial vehicle business, in Sandown Motor Holdings (Pty) to the Motus Group Limited. Sandown Motor Holdings (Pty) Ltd (SMH) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MBSA. It formed part of MBSA’s implementation of Project FOCUS, which resulted in the spin-off of Daimler Truck AG. The rationale behind the spin-off was to enable Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Daimler Truck AG greater entrepreneurial flexibility and agility, the independence to focus on its strategic direction in respect of electric mobility transformation, improved customer centricity and to unlock their full potential.