African, like any other continent, procures a wide variety of vehicles from different manufacturers, from the posh fuel guzzlers to the more affordable fuel efficient vehicles. A number of vehicle manufacturers have managed to take Africa by storm, but the Toyota and Nissan teams still remain the batch to beat. They have something for everyone, whether you are going for the brand new road monster or secondhand cars that will not put a dent to your wallet.
Trucks
Africa is a growing continent and thus trucks are quite important. In fact, trucking in Africa is one of the economy boosters. What types of trucks are you likely to experience in Africa?
- Concrete mixer trucks for construction jobs
Tipper trucks for the fast growing road building projects
Solid waste trucks - Tankers for transporting fuel substances
- Flatbed trucks for transporting bulky and awkward cargo
- Pickup trucks for farm use
- Long distance 18-wheelers
Why Trucks for Africa?
Save for a few African countries, you will find that the rail transport, water or air transport are not that well established and therefore the roads remain the transit options for many people. Trucks are used to carry anything in Africa, including delivering fuel to depots, carrying animals, and most important, in the construction projects. As a fast growing market for vehicles, Africans now want to buy from manufacturers who build trucks with Africa in mind to cater for their many truck-related needs.
Buses
A minibus in Nairobi, Kenya
Bus transport carries the day everywhere in Africa. In fact, buses are a big industry, for example in Kenya, the customized buses, carrying heavy hip-hop graphics are something of a tourist attraction. Every year, millions of buses are sold to Africa and today luxury travel is becoming very common as the road networks become better.
Since the transport industry in most African countries is controlled by the private sector, it is a very lucrative business. For the record, a lot of people in Africa do not own their own vehicles due to their economic statuses, thus buses are very popular means of transport from one place to another. There might be a shortage of personal vehicle but citizens still enjoy public bus rides.
Cars
The range of cars on the African roads is wider than you could imagine. Africa is a combination of many worlds; there is the rough terrain, the smooth highways and the all-weather roads running through wild countrysides. This diversity is reflected in the types of cars that people buy. There are the all purpose off-road 4×4 trucks and the ordinary sedans used by modern city dwellers. Africa cannot boast of hybrid vehicles yet, but the cars on the roads satisfy the needs of the people.
Standing near any African super highway, you will not think it any different from other continents. This is because there are as many and different vehicles as there are in developed countries. As car manufacturers fight for a piece of the cake that is the African market, we benefit from the diversity that hits the market. As an African saying goes, when crows fight, the grasshopper celebrates. There might be no crow or grasshopper in the automobile world in Africa, but the more the dealerships opening doors, the cheaper the vehicles.
The most dominant brands
The Far East has dominated the market in Africa and for obvious reasons too. Their vehicles are more affordable and easy to maintain because the parts are readily available. There are many more brands making way on to the African roads. Knowing the variety of vehicles in Africa is not hard because most of them come from Japan anyway. This however does not mean that there are no other models. It only emphasizes the growing need for speed in Africa. There are many manufacturers finding their way to Africa and the diversity only shows that Africa rides on choice and personality.
