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On May 9, local time, the celebration of the 30th anniversary of FAW's liberation into South Africa was successfully held at FAW's South Africa Kuha Plant (hereinafter referred to as "Kuha Plant"). Hu Hanjie, General Counsel of China FAW's Overseas Business, Yu Changxin, Member of the Party Committee and Executive Deputy General Manager of FAW Jiefang, and Leng Changchun, General Manager of FAW Jiefang's Overseas Product Line, attended the event. The Chinese Embassy in South Africa, the South African Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Eastern Cape, the city of Mandela and other government officials, representatives of FAW's Chinese-funded enterprises in South Africa, dealers, representatives of key customers and media friends who support the development of Jiefang witnessed this grand occasion.
Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Trade and Industry of South Africa, and Liu Yu, Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in South Africa, fully affirmed the role of FAW Jiefang in the development of the South African market and the promotion of local employment and social development in their speeches, and praised FAW South Africa as a model enterprise of China-South Africa cooperation, with outstanding achievements and a positive image of social responsibility, and made great contributions to South Africa's economic prosperity and social progress.
In his speech, Hu Hanjie, on behalf of China FAW, expressed his gratitude to the South African government and partners who have long supported the operation and development of China FAW and South African companies, and said that 30 years is both the end and the starting point, and China FAW will continue to increase investment in southern Africa and make greater contributions to the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of southern Africa.
FAW Jiefang's breakthrough and achievements in the South African market are inseparable from the firm support of dealers, customers, employees and other partners. At the ceremony, FAW Jiefang specially commended the partners who have made outstanding contributions to market development and business expansion over the past 30 years. The award-winning representatives took the stage one by one to share their stories of growing up together with FAW Jiefang.
At the ceremony, Liu Yu, Mayor of Mandela City Gary Van Niekerk, Hu Hanjie, Deputy General Manager of FAW South Africa (presiding over the work) Yang Jian, Chief Representative of the South African Representative Office of the China-Africa Development Fund Dong Kun, and Mr. Richard, Director of the South African Company, jointly lit up the screen, and the countdown to start the offline ceremony. The screen rises and the new generation of flagship model JH6 550 hp tractor is unveiled, kicking off the next three decades.
The 30 years that FAW Jiefang has taken root in South Africa is a pioneer and a 30 years of development, as well as a 30 years of deep integration and benchmarking. In May 1994, FAW Jiefang became the first and only Chinese car brand in South Africa at that time with the first Jiefang truck CA141 entering the South African market. In 2012, China FAW and the China-Africa Development Fund increased investment in South Africa and launched the construction project of FAW South Africa's Kuha commercial vehicle assembly plant, with a designed annual production capacity of 5,000 units, which has been valued and supported by the governments of the two countries, and has been listed as a key overseas investment project by the Ministry of Commerce of China. On July 10, 2014, the Kuha plant was officially completed and put into operation, and today, as the production base of FAW Jiefang in South Africa, the Kuha plant has produced more than 15,000 Jiefang trucks, becoming the largest, most advanced equipment and most standardized truck production plant in southern Africa, known as "a model of China-South Africa cooperation". In 2023, FAW Jiefang's terminal sales in the South African market will exceed 3,000 units for the first time, and the 1,000th Jiefang JH6 tractor will be delivered annually. In 2024, according to the official data of the South African Commercial Vehicle Association, FAW South Africa's terminal sales from January to April exceeded 1,500 units, a year-on-year increase of 54%, of which the terminal sales of the high-end flagship JH6 exceeded 700 units, a year-on-year increase of 146%, standing out in the fierce competition with world-renowned commercial vehicle brands, ranking first in market share. At the same time, 400 Jiefang trucks rolled off the assembly line at the Kuha plant in April, breaking the historical production record in a single month.
With 30 years of deep cultivation in South Africa, FAW Jiefang has established a complete production, sales and service operation system in southern Africa, with more than 30 sales and service channels covering South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and other regions. The built spare parts center library and customer service center are supplied to the whole network to meet the after-sales service needs of customers. At the same time, it focuses on the two major markets of traction and cargo, creates a full value chain marketing, caters to the needs of customers in southern Africa, provides them with efficient and reliable comprehensive vehicle solutions, and continues to inject impetus into the construction and development of southern Africa.
Facing the future, FAW Jiefang will continue to increase investment in the southern African market, accelerate the layout of overseas all-factor, expand product lines, expand sales and service networks, deepen financial cooperation, and comprehensively enhance the product competitiveness and brand influence of Jiefang Trucks in the international market!
(This article is provided by the company)