A LIGHT

The growing need and reliance for light commercial vehicles has arguably been the story of road transportation in the past half decade. In the rapidly developing Saudi Arabian market, the government’s audacious Vision 2030 plan and a boom in the manufacturing, retail, e-commerce and logistics sectors has led to a realisation that the market needs to invest in its own lighter trucks to get finished goods and materials into the Kingdom’s sprawling and increasingly congested urban centres.

Juffali Commercial Vehicles (JCV), the authorised general distributor in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of Daimler Truck

AG, represents Mercedes-Benz Trucks, MCV Buses, EvoBus, and Mercedes-Benz Vans in the market. Recognising that it needed to extend its portfolio to cater for the evolving needs of fleets in the market, JCV spotted and took the opportunity to bring another Daimler Truck brand, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Cooperation (MFTBC) and its FUSO range of trucks and buses into its ranks.

FUSO offers a range of commercial vehicles from light, medium, and heavy-duty trucks and buses, to industrial engines and connectivity solutions for over 170 markets worldwide. A longstanding landmark in Japan’s commercial vehicle landscape, the brand has leveraged Japanese quality and craftsmanship over the decades. FUSO is particularly renowned for its offerings in the light-duty segment and the claims the top market share in various markets around the world. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the FUSO brand, another milestone in its continuing legacy of setting benchmarks in efficiency, safety, and comfort. Without doubt, the headline act at FUSO is the Canter – one of the world’s most popular and famous LCV lines. While CEO Heiko Schulze said that the move of FUSO into the Saudi firm’s showrooms enabled JCV to offer a fresh perspective to the commercial vehicle market as a full-range supplier, the addition of the Canter puts it in prime position to enable fleets who need a lighter touch in their ranks to be successful.

According to JCV, the Canter is already a favourite of the Saudi market due to its durability and reliability – qualities which are necessary to match the demanding conditions of the region. Several thousand units of the Canter are sold in Saudi Arabia every year. Further supported by a range of light- to heavy-duty trucks and light-duty buses, the market is also among the largest for the FUSO brand in the MENA region in terms of unit sales, second only to the United Arab Emirates.

Having started the assembly of Mercedes-Benz trucks almost half a century ago. NAI, a joint venture between Daimler Truck AG and its general distributor has begun assembling the light-duty Canter trucks for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has been one of the fastestdeveloping economies in the world in recent years, with the latest projections placing the GDP growth rate in 2022 at over 7%.

The Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which strategically outlines a diversification away from oil exports, is driven partly by multiple infrastructures and urban development mega-projects. The framework includes new destinations for sustainable tourism, public transportation networks, and industrial parks targeting future technologies. While FUSO vehicles have been in the market since 1973, with these large-scale public investments, the trucks, and the Canter in particular, will play an even more important role in Saudi Arabia in the years ahead. The start-up of assembly at the NAI’s plant in Jeddah, where the Canter lines will run alongside the manufacture of Mercedes vehicles such as the Actros, means reduced waiting times for fleets needing to keep pace with the booming Saudi market.

NAI has remained one of MercedesBenz’s leading factories outside of Germany and was awarded ISO-9001/2000 Certificate in 1994. JCV backs up the operation with the best quality products, reliable service, and the supply of Genuine Spare Parts to fleets in the Kingdom, ensuring that Canter customers will also be able to rely on decades of know-how and support.

In 2017, the eCanter became the first series produced all-electric light-duty truck in Japan, and FUSO promises customers a “Future Together.” This bold claim continues to drive the brand’s contributions to safe and sustainable transport. But it could also define the Saudi fleets who fall in love with the adaptable light truck that brings flexibility to a dynamic and ever-evolving market.