Serco worked closely with e-commerce retailer, Takealot.com, in its move to own and operate its own fleet of dry body vehicles.

The online retailer has warehouses in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, from which it delivers consumer goods to online buyers. Serco, in consultation with the Takealot team, designed a number of key aspects in the new 22-strong fleet of Hyundai H100 vehicles including:

• The lightweight bodies designed for easy access and to suit door-to-door deliveries
• Nosecones for improved performance and fuel efficiency
• Tail lifts to facilitate quick and efficient loading and offloading of goods

The trailer maker completed the manufacture of the bodies at its factories in Cape Town and Johannesburg earlier this year. Its managing director, Clinton Holcroft, said buying online and having the goods – both dry and perishable – delivered to homes was a fast-growing trend in the United Kingdom and in Europe. “Buying online is happening in South Africa and I have no doubt it will soon become extremely popular,” he adds.

“Having smaller, more manoeuvrable vehicles to handle deliveries makes good sense, especially as heavy vehicles are often prohibited from entering housing estates,” he says.