FAW Trucks Southern Africa welcomed the extended Southern African regional dealer network and teams, along with their 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, held in November.
Representatives from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Mozambique and Mauritius joined the full FAW Trucks Southern Africa executive and technical leadership team for 2 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 Southern African roadmaps from 2026 to future. 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 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 aftersales investment – establishment of two new regional parts hubs (one in Lusaka, one in Maputo), expansion of the Coega training academy for export technicians, and the rollout of a 24/7 multilingual breakdown coordination centre.
The conference included a hands-on engagement where delegates toured the 103,000 sqm 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: “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: “Our 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 company said it emerges from the event with a unified, energised export network ready to deliver world-class Chinese engineering, African-proven durability and unmatched local support to fleets throughout the region.
