Volvo Trucks Southern Africa handed the first regional units of its new FH model to two customers in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

In Gauteng, Triton Express Group CEO, Eric Corbishley, was officially handed the keys of the two new trucks by Volvo Group Southern Africa’s president, Torbjörn Christensson. Whilst the Westmead Group, based in KwaZulu-Natal, took delivery of two new units, making them the first customer in the Eastern Region, to welcome the new Volvo FH to its fleet.

Says Christensson, “This is a very significant day for the Volvo Trucks team as it is the culmination of years of planning and hard work. And we are very proud to be delivering these first units to some of our most valued customers with whom we have had a very good relationship over a number of years.  They both share many of our core values such as environmental care and safety, and we therefore believe these new units will certainly add a lot of value to their business.”

Triton Express
Established in 1987, Triton Express provides express road freight distribution solutions for more than 2500 customers throughout the region.  The company has 13 branches throughout South Africa and one each in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
The first of the units Triton Express received is a FH 500 HP 6 x 4 truck-tractor, which is Euro 5 compliant, and has a high chassis height and rear-air suspension.  Three years ago, the company was also first in the country to acquire a Euro 5 FH Classic, and 8% of their current fleet is also Euro 5 compliant.

The second model is a FH 480 HP 6×4 Truck Tractor, also with a high chassis height and rear suspension, with a Euro 3 engine.    These units are also equipped with some of the latest safety, security and comfort technology available, from driver alert and lane change support, to Dynafleet support and telematics.

Westmead Group

The family-owned Westmead Group also took delivery of a FH 480 HP 6 x 4 truck-tractor with high chassis height with B-ride. The Westmead Group has taken ownership of all three generations of Volvo FH models since Volvo’s inception in South Africa.

Established in 1995 with the main aim of delivering a committed and reliable transport service to customers in the logistics industry, the Group currently employs more than 250 people and has offices in Durban and Johannesburg.  Going into the future, Westmead’s entire fleet will boast new branding on its vehicles, as with the new Volvo FH.

FH Series

The new FH Series, from the ground up, was purposefully designed with the driver in mind, providing them with a comfortable, profitable and safe ride.  With its new Volvo FH series, Volvo Trucks Southern Africa says it is pushing the envelope of what a premium truck can offer. This includes maximum uptime, leading fuel economy, reliability, ergonomics, superior handling, active and passive safety, as well as a range of time-saving features.

The Volvo FH has been Volvo Trucks’ flagship model for almost 20 years.  Since the launch of a new version of the Volvo FH in Europe in 2012, more than 2 500 units have already been sold in that region.

Concludes Christensson, “Locally, we are expecting to complete delivery of the first 20 units of the new range at the beginning of June, and the run-out of the Classic ranges by the end of that month. With a healthy local order book of already more than 1 000 units, we are looking forward to increased market share and continued success with the new model ranges.”