Al Naboodah Group Enterprises (ANGE) has officially announced its partnership with DAF Trucks and the relaunch of the Dutch truck brand in the UAE after a decade long hiatus in its marketing activities.
Based in the Netherlands, DAF is a leading European truck manufacturer, which was named ‘Truck Fleet Manufacturer of the Year’ at the 2016 Commercial Fleet Awards in the UK, while its XF range was named ‘Fleet Truck of the Year 2016’ at the similarly UK-held Motor Transport Awards.
ANGE will distribute the DAF brand through its established UAE sales network, and service the product with a team of technicians with years of experience in maintaining DAF engines, thanks to their use in ANGE’s VDL bus line-up.
Buti Al Naboodah, the deputy CEO for commercial at ANGE, commented: “Al Naboodah Group Enterprises is committed to diversifying our business to provide innovative solutions to our consumers that help support the economy and lead society towards a sustainable future.
“Our partnership with DAF represents a milestone and a new business stream for the group and will only reinforce the sense of trust and reliability among our commercial vehicle industry stakeholders.”
DAF Trucks has three basic product ranges: LF, CF and XF – its light, medium and heavy duty trucks, respectively – catering to urban distribution and construction through to long and heavy haulage operations.
For regional markets, DAF has also developed heavy duty variants across the three ranges, alongside proven cooling systems that have been thoroughly tested at temperatures in excess of 50˚C.
Ajit Kumar, COO for commercial, transport and electrical at ANGE, commented: “The collaboration with DAF is the culmination of Al Naboodah Group Enterprises’ investment in providing world-class solutions to meet the local market demands and requirements.”
Michiel Kuijs, director of sales operations at DAF, added: “As a premium brand, DAF wanted to be sure that we had a well-respected and very professional partner that represents our values.
“In terms of quality, after sales, services and customer satisfaction, we found the right partner for the future in Al Naboodah Group Enterprises, with its proven track record, just like DAF.”
Since ANGE’s soft launch of DAF Trucks in the UAE, the business has already sold 40 vehicles, both to customers and for use in the group’s own fleet, in a demonstration of its confidence in the brand.
According to ANGE, the DAF trucks have been proven to be highly reliable, environmentally friendly, fuel efficient and durable vehicles that will result in a lower total cost of ownership for its customers.
More than 500 DAF trucks have also been distributed in the last five years in Jordan, after the brand tied up with the Ammann-based Manaseer Machinery Trading in 2013.
ANGE and DAF Trucks formally began their partnership in October 2016, as revealed by PMV Middle East in its March 2017 issue, and have been working towards their relaunch since that time.
Read more: Talking total cost: Swaidan, DAF and Sennebogen
DAF Trucks was previously sold in the UAE through Al Tayer Motors, which has also been the distributor of rival truck brand Ford Trucks since 2014.
Both DAF Trucks and VDL Bus & Coach (formerly DAF Bus, prior to the sale of the business to United Bus in 1990) are based in Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
In April 2016, First Vehicles, an Omani joint venture between ANGE and Oman’s Al Izz Group, supplied 40 VDL buses to the Oman National Transport Company.
This deal also built on a $517m order signed with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority in 2008 for 518 VDL buses and a 10-year service and maintenance agreement.
Read more: Big interview: Ajit Kumar of Swaidan Trading
For the full story on DAF Trucks and their relaunch in the UAE, see November 2017’s issue of PMV Middle East.
