FAW Trucks Southern Africa recently welcomed the extended Southern African regional dealer network and teams as well as country managers, sales directors and technical heads from across the continent to its flagship manufacturing facility in the Coega Industrial Development Zone for the 2025 Export Dealer Conference.
Representatives from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Mozambique and Mauritius, joined the full FAW Trucks Southern Africa executive and technical leadership team for two days of strategic planning, product immersion and operational alignment under the theme “Built in Africa. Proven for Africa. Supported Everywhere”.
The conference opened with an in-depth morning session covering the 2026 to future, Southern African roadmaps. Key announcements and focus areas included:
New product introductions: Several next-generation models that have completed rigorous South African testing cycles (extreme heat, dust, corrugated roads and heavy-load durability) and are now cleared for regional launch in 2026.
Specification upgrades: This is across the light, medium and extra-heavy ranges, including reinforced chassis, enhanced cooling systems and market-specific axle configurations.
New financial solutions: Developed in partnership with leading banks and finance houses, offering innovative repayment solutions, tailored to the cash-flow realities of cross-border operators.
Major after-sales investment: The establishment of two new regional parts hubs (one in Lusaka, one in Maputo), expansion of the Coega training academy for export technicians, and the roll-out of a 24/7 multilingual breakdown coordination centre.
Delegates toured the 103 000m² Coega assembly plant, the only facility on the continent producing vehicles from 3.5-tonne light commercials to 60-tonne extra-heavy prime movers on the same line, before participating in static and dynamic product reviews of forthcoming models optimised for regional conditions.
Richard Leiter, Executive Director of FAW Trucks Southern Africa, addressed the conference saying that South Africa’s roads are among the toughest proving grounds on earth. “When a truck survives and prospers here, we know it will excel anywhere in our region. This week we have equipped every export partner with the products, the financial tools and the service backbone to dominate their local markets in 2026 and beyond.”
Xie Huang, COO of FAW Trucks Southern Africa, reinforced the commitment by stating that the Coega plant is not just a factory, it is the heartbeat of commercial vehicle manufacturing for the entire Southern African region. “The investments we announced this week in parts availability, technician training and customer financing demonstrate that FAW is here for the long haul, in every country where our trucks operate.”
The conference closed by celebrating the collective achievements of the FAW Trucks family across the ten countries.
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I have bad reflexes. I was once run over by a car being pushed by two guys
Woody Allen
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