The latest in FAW’s remarkable line of freight trucks is the JH6 550, designed with driver and road user safety at the forefront. This truck is set to revolutionise freighting in South Africa and Africa.

DP World in Alberton was selected to put the JH6 550 to the test and Peet Wessels, Senior Technical Group Director for DP World South African region, says they will have six months to see how this truck stacks up against its competitors.

DP World is an international business specifically focused on supply chain improvement. They manage a fleet of about 1 300 vehicles and the company has about 7 000 vehicles in total.

Peet explains that they are not new to FAW and their products, having had the chance to even visit the manufacturing plant in China. They have in the past also tested FAW products and have some smaller FAW vehicles as part of their fleet.

“The brand is strong and has a massive footprint in South Africa which is a big-ticket item for us,” Peet says.

Why test the JH6 550?

Peet explains that the latest safety features in this truck not only meets South African requirements but also compares very well with European products.

Freighting in South Africa differs quite a lot from the rest of Africa.

“The rest of Africa has a more lower entry level technology point of view,” Peet explains. “They maintain their freight in country and do not always have support from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). In South Africa we are usually more focussed on safety for our drivers and other road users, and fleet maintenance is done on the OEM side.”

Compared to other vehicles, the FAW JH6 550 compares favourably in terms of total cost of ownership, and comes in at a lower market price. DP World are however very interested to get the feedback from their drivers who sometimes spend up to 15 hours a day in these vehicles.

“After testing, we shall be able to say if total cost of ownership will be in line with what we expect.”

Latest technology

The JH6 550 comes standard with the following safety features:

  • AEBS – Advanced emergency braking system
  • EBS – Electric braking system
  • ESC – Electronic stability controller
  • FCW – Forward collision warning
  • LDW – Lane departure warning

Peet says: “These features make our drivers safer on the roads, and that is a non-negotiable for us at this time, something that must be in all of our vehicles.”

DP World will be running the JH6 550 in their cement operations and will test this truck on both a flat deck and a tanker application.

To learn more about the FAW JH6 550, visit their website at www.faw.co.za.