Emirates Skycargo — Looking Forward
UD Trucks and Kuwait Municipality signed a sales deal.
UD Trucks gaining traction across Middle East and East Africa Launch of New Quester contributed to sales growth in the GCC
T
he launch of the new, heavy-duty Quester, a series of major fleet deals and the announcement of a new retail partner in Saudi Arabia were among the highlights of 2019 as UD Trucks enjoyed another positive year across the Middle East, East and North Africa (MEENA) region. Against the backdrop of extremely challenging economic conditions, the Japanese commercial vehicle brand that belongs to the Volvo Group recorded sales increases in a number of key markets, in particular the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman. In the UAE, UD Trucks sales were up almost 10 percent year-on-year, despite the overall market shrinking. It was a similar story in Oman, with the market down but UD Trucks registering 10 percent growth. As a market, Kuwait however bucked the regional trend with truck sales increasing, helping UD Trucks to an impressive doubling of sales. The company maintained its number one position in Bahrain, while
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reinforcing its position in Qatar as the number one brand in the Japanese truck segment and number three brand overall, including the European manufacturers.
Saudi Arabia 2019 was very much a year of transition for UD Trucks in Saudi Arabia. Following a mutual agreement to terminate its collaboration with Rolaco Group, the brand’s previous partner in the Kingdom, UD Trucks announced Zahid Tractor as its new exclusive importer and distributor in the country. With the start of this exciting collaboration between the two companies, and underpinned by the ambition and professionalism of Zahid Tractor, 2020 is set to be an excellent year for the brand as it seeks to continue its growth and take customer satisfaction to a higher level. UD Trucks has invested significant time and resources in the East Africa region in recent years as it seeks to reactivate its
presence there. Last year it was rewarded for its reactivation of Ethiopia with a doubling of its market share, while the brand also helped to inaugurate a UN driver school in the country - under UD/Volvo Group’s sponsorship, UD Trucks supplied three Quester models and ran numerous driving school sessions. UD Trucks also re-commenced activities in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania over the course of the year. 2020 will see a continued focus on this region, and particularly in Kenya where a local assembly project will be launched. Central to UD Trucks’ strong regional performance in 2019 was the Middle East arrival of the New Quester in April. Building on proven robustness and reliability, New Quester has introduced key features such as ESCOT automated manual transmission, engines with higher horsepower and userfriendly telematics to deliver greater fuel efficiency, productivity, driver efficiency, safety and uptime for customers. The new Quester and medium-duty
