Today, China's comprehensive national strength has been continuously enhanced, and the manufacturing technology of the industry has become more developed. Trucks of different brands are lined up on the transportation roads, and the truckers also have their own business experience for the selection and maintenance of trucks. So what does trucking look like in less economically backward African regions by comparison? Let's take a look at what trucks look like on the road in Tanzania, an African country.
Tanzania is located in eastern Africa and faces the Indian Ocean to the east. Its economy is mainly based on agriculture. It is one of the least developed countries in the world. Due to the low industrial production capacity and the dependence of daily necessities on imports, there is a greater demand for the logistics industry.
Although the economy is backward, it is not desolate and overgrown with weeds as we imagined. The density of cars in Tanzania's cities is relatively high.
Due to the country's weak industrial strength and inability to produce vehicles, vehicles need to be imported. There are two main sources of imported trucks: one is new trucks imported from developing countries such as China and India, and the other is used trucks imported from developed countries such as Europe, America and Japan.
China's FAW Jiefang, Sinotruk Howo and SAIC Hongyan have exported trucks to Tanzania, and Chinese vehicles have a high "appearance rate" locally.
Japan's Mitsubishi and Isuzu are also popular locally.
Scania, DAF and other European used cars are also everywhere on the road.
The infrastructure in Tanzania is underdeveloped, and trucks are used for logistics and transportation as well as infrastructure, so the vehicle design is more suitable for construction sites and areas with complex road conditions. Since Africa has many uninhabited areas where wild animals live, the bumper of the truck will also be specially designed to resist the impact of wild animals.
China often use the combination of road trains to improve transportation efficiency and reduce costs, and Tanzania is no exception. The picture below is a road train composed of Jiefang JH6 dragging a double-trailer combination, which is suitable for transportation on flat and open roads.
Before independence in 1963, Tanzania was a British colony, so it the British right-seat left-hand traffic pattern, and Chinese vehicles exported to the region would install the steering wheel to the right according to this traffic pattern.
Some old trucks can often be seen on the roads in Tanzania. Although a few people in Europe and the United States like to drive old trucks because of their feelings, these trucks have high standards in terms of configuration and maintenance. This is not the case here. They will continue to use the old cars that have been eliminated, and their attitude towards cars is: as long as they can still drive. There is also almost no scrapping system, and the requirements for vehicles are not high. This kind of old car has long been rebuilt in China.
Due to the poor road conditions in Africa, trucks have a high demand for maintenance. A small maintenance station needs to be almost "all-round", so that it can cover the maintenance of trucks of different brands in many different countries. However, compared with ordinary trucks, vehicles transporting dangerous goods are much neater. This may be because the local area pays more attention to dangerous goods, so that vehicles transporting dangerous goods have higher requirements.
Most areas in Africa are seriously overloaded, but according to friends who work there, trucks in Tanzania are less overloaded, with a 6-axle truck generally weighing 50 tons.
Influenced by Tanzania's economy, urban development and traditional concepts, the local people have formed the current concept and habit of using cars. It is hoped that with the continuous enhancement of national strength and the continuous development of technology, African brothers can gradually establish a formal concept of car use. At the same time, I wish them an early day when they can produce their own trucks without relying on imports.