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TVS Motor Company expands and strengthens its presence in South Africa
TVS Motor Company, a reputed two-wheeler and three-wheeler manufacturer globally, today announced their new distribution partnership with ETG Logistics (ETGL).
TVS Motor Company ranks amongst the top five two-wheeler companies in the world with a presence in over 70 countries across Africa, South East Asia, the Indian Sub-Continent, Latin America and the Middle East. ETGL is a division of ETG (Export Trading Group) – a global conglomerate present in 48 countries with expertise across various industries.
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ETGL will operate 30 dealerships for TVS Motor Company in South Africa as part of this partnership. The company will also support TVS Motor with dedicated sales, service, spares and customer relationship management (CRM), including the assembly set-up and training centre in Johannesburg.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. R Dilip, President – International Business, TVS Motor Company, said, “We are delighted to partner with the reputed global conglomerate, ETGL, to expand our presence in South Africa. ETGL comes with rich experience, deep understanding and vast knowledge of the market.
South Africa is an important market for us, and ETGL’s extensive distribution network, along with our shared ethos and values, makes them the ideal strategic partner. This association with ETGL is a significant step towards expanding TVS Motor Company’s market presence in Southern Africa, driving innovation through bestin-class products and setting a customer experience benchmark.”
Mr. Rajeev Saxena, Director, ETGL, said, “We are excited to announce our partnership with TVS Motor Company. This partnership will be instrumental in bringing a range of mobility solutions to address specific requirements of different customer groups in the country. The technology and quality prowess of TVS Motor Company combined with our strong understanding of the market will definitely create an impact in mobility space in South Africa.”
TVS Motor Company will launch products such as TVS Apache series, TVS HLX series, TVS NTORQ 125 and TVS Duramax Cargo in South Africa. The premium motorcycle series, TVS Apache, will cater to the aspirations of the customers and the global favorite, TVS HLX, will provide last-mile connectivity for both personal commute and commercial delivery segments.
TVS NTORQ 125, a revolutionary Bluetooth enabled scooter, will address Gen Z’s superior style, performance and technology promise. The three-wheeler Duramax Cargo will carve a niche segment in the delivery space with an economical TCO offering.
Aramex Redesigns Operating Model to Capture Growth Opportunities in a Fastchanging Industry
Aramex (DFM: ARMX), a leading global provider of comprehensive logistics and transportation solutions, today announced adopting a new operating model with the strategic objective of enhancing customer service levels and operating efficiencies while capturing greater global market share within both the B2C and B2B customer segments.
Operating Model Redesign
Aramex Express, which includes international and domestic delivery solutions will serve the B2C customer base including Shop & Ship, e-commerce, FMCG, SMEs and other customers needing innovative last mile solutions. Meanwhile, Aramex Logistics, which includes air freight, sea freight, land freight, and warehousing and distribution, will serve B2B customer base across multiple industries including oil & gas, healthcare & pharmaceutical, aerospace, retail & fashion, amongst others.
To ensure the new operating model can successfully create greater value for multiple stakeholder groups, a Chief Operating Officer role has been created for each of Aramex Express and Aramex Logistics. Mohammad Alkhas has been appointed COO for Aramex Logistics. Alkhas is a senior logistics executive with over 24 years of experience in leading large and diverse teams within the transport and logistics sector. He is re-joining Aramex, having spent 19 years with the organization through 2016, when he most recently served as Aramex’s Regional CEO for the GCC. Alaa Saoudi has been appointed COO for Aramex Express. Saoudi joined Aramex in 1998 and has held several senior geographic and operations positions. He was most recently Global Senior Director of Ground Operations for Aramex.
All support functions, including Finance, Human Resources, Procurement, Digital and Customer Contact Centers will be provided centrally by Aramex’s Corporate Centre, which will also manage M&A and Strategy, Legal, Risk and Compliance to ensure global control and alignment across the newly formed clusters.
Othman Aljeda, Group CEO of Aramex, said: “The global transportation and logistics industry is undergoing a fundamental shift, driven predominantly by the boom in e-commerce, supply chain disruptions, customers’ increasingly discerning expectations and the turbo speed of digitization. For Aramex to stay ahead of the curve and remain a competitive, reliable and sustainably growing industry leader, we decided to focus on capturing growth opportunities by decoupling our core services.
By creating Aramex Express and Aramex Logistics we will have a more agile company, focused on capturing the right opportunities to grow and diversify our customer base, investing in and deploying the best and latest technologies, and operating at higher efficiency levels. The investments we are making in our business today will enable us to provide our customers
with improved service levels, and our shareholder with long-term value.”
New regional structure
To support Aramex’s global growth ambitions, the organization has also created a new regional structure composed of the Americas; Europe; Sub-Saharan Africa; Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT); GCC; South Asia and North Asia; and Oceana. Each region will be led by a Regional Vice President and will have dedicated Commercial and Operations teams focused on growing Aramex’s local footprint and driving commercial opportunities and customercentric innovations.
Each region will report to Andy Van der Velde, who has been appointed President. Van der Velde was previously Aramex’s Regional CEO for GCC, Australia, New Zealand and Southern Africa.
Aramex has also appointed Dr. Johannes Distler as Chief Strategy Officer, a newly created role, with the purpose of ensuring the development and execution of Aramex’s corporate strategy as well as the group’s international expansion and M&A agenda. Dr. Distler joins Aramex from Roland Berger, where he was a Partner in the firm’s Dubai office.
Alkhas, Saoudi, Van der Velde and Dr. Distler will all report directly to Othman Aljeda, Group CEO of Aramex. Thomas Kipp, who was appointed Aramex Group’s COO in November 2020, is leaving the company to pursue other interests.
Market opportunity and growth ambitions
Othman Aljeda, Group CEO of Aramex, said: “We see good growth opportunities in the express segment, which currently represents 70% of our revenues. We intend to continue to grow our express business by creating new trade lanes domestically and internationally, and scaling up ground operations to cater to growing customer demands, while continuing to invest in technology and automation.
Our logistics business accounts for 28% of our revenues and we intend to aggressively grow our footprint in our core markets, and markets that will enable trade flow into the region. Therefore, we are investing in specialized warehouses to cater for high potential verticals, and are also scaling up infrastructure beyond main cities to provide extensive coverage. On freight forwarding, we see good growth opportunities in several sectors, one example being O&G with the revival in global oil prices and trade activity.”
According to recent market studies, the global logistics industry is expected to reach USD 1,232 billion by 2025, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5% from 2020 to 2025. This is underpinned by a robust projected growth across all logistics segments. The global e-commerce logistics industry is expected to reach a value of USD 657 billion in 2025, recording 8.6% CAGR in the forecasted period.
The international express and parcel segment is expected to rise 9.2% to reach a value of USD 117 billion while domestic express and parcel is anticipated to register an 8.6% growth to USD 543 billion. Meanwhile, both freight forwarding and contract logistics are projected to record a 6.2% growth to reach USD 242 billion and USD 331 billion respectively.
Kenya plans for future of Urban Air Mobility
Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions (“Eve”) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kenya Airways PLC, the flag carrier of Kenya, through its fully owned subsidiary Fahari Aviation.
This collaboration aims to develop operational models for the wide-accessibility of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) to support Fahari Aviation’s key markets. In addition, this partnership will establish the co-creation of a foundation of concepts and procedures to safely scale electrical vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, also known in the market as EVA (Electrical Vertical Aircraft).
Eve will support Fahari Aviation, the Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) division of Kenya Airways that promotes safe and secure UAS usage in the region, in establishing its UAM network and collaborate on the required Urban Air Traffic Management (UATM) procedures and UAM operating environment.
This partnership will also allow Fahari Aviation to support Eve’s aircraft and product development process which will help guide the integration of UAM with Kenya Airways’ overall operations. Eve’s fully electric aircraft is designed to be accessible to all while being a community-friendly aircraft with a low noise signature and no emissions. It aims to drastically cut road travel time. It is ideally suited as a UAM aircraft bringing all traditional aviation travelers closer to their final destination efficiently and comfortably. “We are thrilled to partner with Kenya Airways to provide new forms of air mobility throughout the region for both people and goods. The creation of disruptive and widely accessible Urban Air Mobility solutions will help democratize mobility by making it more accessible, affordable and giving communities more options.
This partnership will foster long-term mobility strategies throughout the country and region. With our aircraft and aerospace services backing and Kenya Airways’ innovative approach to air mobility, we are enthusiastic about opening this region to more sustainable and community-friendly air access for all,” said Andre Stein, President & CEO of Eve. “Partnerships are vital in mapping out the future of our airline, something which the global crisis has reinforced. Innovation is a critical element of our long-term sustainability.
Fahari Aviation is at the forefront of exploring advanced technologies, with a key focus in aviation, starting with drone technology.
With this partnership, we look to develop innovative air mobility solutions for our clients in Kenya and throughout the region,” stated Allan Kilavuka, Group Managing Director and CEO of Kenya Airways.
The partnership will deliver a robust strategy to provide Fahari Aviation’s passengers with a sustainable, accessible, and affordable transportation option. It is estimated that using UAM from the airport to downtown, EVA can reduce conventional road trips by up to 90% turning an hour and a half ride into a 6-minute flight.
