At a time when Government is messing up big time on infrastructural spend that will benefit its customers, namely, all South Africans, it comes as heartening news that the trucking sector is still going all out to provide top class services to its customers. Evidence of this is via the opening by UD Trucks Southern Africa of its new state-of-the-art UD Trucks Cape Town dealership which has been moved from Epping to a much larger, 23 000sqm site, in Kraaifontein.
This new flagship dealership, which falls under the Fuzion Group as the holding company, is situated close to the N1, N2 and R300 for easy access to customers and is well-equipped with cutting-edge vehicle servicing facilities and equipment, eight double drive-through workshop bays, as well as four double drive-through body building bays, including a spray booth.
The official opening took place on September 12th and was celebrated in grand style with a number of celebrities present. They included Koichi Ito, Chairman, UD Trucks Corporation; Jacques Michel, Senior Vice President, UD Trucks International Sales; John Trollip, Managing Director, Fuzion Group; and Filip Van den Heede, Managing Director, UD Trucks Southern Africa.

Commenting at the opening, John Trollip, Managing Director of the Fuzion Group said: “This new development is a major turning point for us as a dealership and we could not be prouder of the higher visibility and practicality for our customers. With the robust strategy, planning and right vehicles from UD Trucks, we are confident in taking this dealership to a whole new dimension.”
He also commended the UD Trucks team for their tremendous support in making this milestone a resounding success and extended an open invite to all customers to visit the new dealership.
Jacques Michel, Senior Vice President, UD Trucks International Sales said that South Africa remains integral to UD Trucks’ global business footprint “and with Cape Town being the second biggest port in the country, we have no doubt that the investment in the new establishment allows us to be well-poised in better serving our customers and the market at large”.
Weighing in on the strategic move, Filip Van den Heede, Managing Director, UD Trucks Southern Africa said: “We are delighted to be opening the new facility as it rings true to our “Better Life” purpose. Over the years, UD Trucks Southern Africa has maintained a strong presence in the highly competitive local market and the new dealership facility is another example of confidence in the UD Trucks brand. Our customers remain at the core of everything that we do, and UD Trucks Cape Town has our full support to ensure success”.
Eco-friendly
As part of UD Trucks’ ongoing efforts to become an environmentally conscious brand, the company has also extended this commitment to its independently owned, franchised dealers. In the new facility, three major areas contribute to the dealership’s eco-friendly philosophy: power saving in the form of renewable energy, water recycling, and waste management.
The new building is powered by roof-mounted solar panels which generate a maximum of 4,5MWh of power per month. It is further backed by six lithium batteries to serve as a backup system when the load is affected by power outages or bad weather conditions – enough to power an average of 10 hours of power to the admin block and security lights.

Water management is also another carefully considered component in the new building with 90% of all wash bay water recycled, including rainwater which is stored in tanks with a capacity of 60 000 litres. Paper, plastic, cardboard and glass waste is separated and collected for recycling, which reduces waste to landfill by 90%.
Over the years, UD Trucks’ dealer network has expanded significantly and to date, the brand boasts a total of 39 dealerships across Southern Africa.