Top ten truck brands

A look at the top truck brands around the world and in the local market.

There's hardly a road anywhere in the Gulf that doesn't have a line of trucks running up it. As the region has a lot of items to move, ranging from shipping containers to building supplies, but very little in the way of rail networks. As a result, every roundabout and intersection typically has a line of dusty old trucks snaking towards the horizon.

Typically, most of these trucks are fairly low tech. The majority were built in Europe, which is where they plied their trade for ten or fifteen years, before being exported here. There is a reason for this - not only are truck heads cheap owing to changes in emissions legislation which makes them unworkable in their home lands, but models with a minimum of electronics are more reliable for the desert heat.

As a result, most of the GCC's fleet comprises of faded and battered old truck heads pulling gnarly old trailers in various states of disrepair loaded up beyond their axle weight.

This is starting to change though, at least in the UAE where various laws restricting the age of trucks that can be imported are being introduced.

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The market leader across the GCC is Mercedes, though as the chart shows, this is not the case globally. Isuzu are the market leaders worldwide for heavy trucks, but it is sub 3.5 tonne class that they are known for locally.

Volvo

Volvo group have a strong presence in the region, with most of its products bought for their fabled longevity. Again, most heavy vehicles from this brand have been first used elsewhere in the world. Interestingly, Volvo owns UD Nissan Diesel - a firm which confusingly does not have anything to do with Nissan Motors - even though both firms make diesel powered vehicles.

Hino

Hino are well known in the region for its range of parcel trucks and for well-specified medium and heavy duty lorries. What is less well known is that it is by some way the market leader in its native Japan. At one point the company produced passenger cars, but this stopped when the firm was aquired by Toyota in 1967. Currently, the group is experimenting with a new-style trolleybus, which can pick up power from a rail in the road.

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