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Our export performers

THE BRITISH BRITISH commercial vehicle industry makes a substantial contribution to the economy by virtue of its export performance. For the 12 months ended in December 1977, the value of the UK produced commercial vehicles sold outside this country came to a staggering £652,670,000., For the month of December alone, the total was £57,677,000.

For this CM British Vehicles

issue I have been looking at the try was under consideration. It performance of some of the also simplified parts stocking manufacturers who account for because of the simplified ratio the lion's share of this impressnalisation of components.

ive export drive. The Leyland Product Depart LEYLAND, in the days when it ment checked on the market was Leyland Motors Ltd, carved requirements for the various itself an impressive slice of the countries under consideration export market especially in what and came up with a list of seven have become known as the essential features. It suggested Third World countries. In the that the vehicle should be cap transition from LML to Leyland able of Vehicles via Leyland Motor CorEl achieving a road speed of poration, British Leyland et al, 100km/ h under standard body the company — whatever its conditions title — has maintained an restarting fully laden on a 20 impressive export record, per cent gradient

At the Amsterdam Show earlier this year Leyland announced the "Eurospec-. This was a specification designed to be applicable throughout the vehicle range in whatever coun

gradient fully laden at a reasonable road speed E starting at ambient temperatures down to —20 C (-4 F)

E being effectively cooled at ambient temperatures up to 137 C(99 F)

n An average day's work on only one tank of fuel E Providing drivers with an efficient but comfortable working environment .

As far as the vehicles themselves are concerned, Leyland exports the Sherpa, Terrier, Boxer, Mastiff and Super Mastiff and the Marathon. These have been homologated throughout Europe although they are not as yet sold in all countries. The EA can also be included in this list although it is sold only in France and Portugal at the moment.

This problem of rationalisa tion is a serious one for manufacturers with a large product range. For example, before Eurospec, there were six or seven versions of the Super Mastiff available in Holland. To arrive at the overall technical requirements the "highest common denominator" was found of all the domestic regulations of the various European markets.

This, perhaps surprisingly turned out to be the French market, Thus Leyland put together a vehicle specification based on the French requirements which — with the exception of the yellow headlamps — could be used as a standard for Europe.

As the market situation. stands at the moment, France has the greatest sales potential for Leyland. This is partly because Leyland is already established there and also because the French have shown a willingness to buy. Along with the UK, France is one country where the operators are not too bothered about the vehicle's country of origin.

The home products of Saviem and Berliet have only about 50 per cent of the French heavy market between them. The sales growth line is very flat in Europe at the moment and Leyland don't see this changing very much during the next five to 10 years — the actual estimate being 11/2 to 2 per cent growth in the over 31/2-ton category.

As there is obviously little growth in the market due to natural expansion, any greater sales penetration in a particular country will have to be at the expense of someone else. In other words, "there is going to be one hell of a price war", according to Leyland's European marketing manager, Chris Smart.

But Leyland is not concerned solely with Europe — far from it. From Algeria to Australia, Ghana to Singapore. Leyland vehicles are sold or constructed in no less than 31 countries.

IN THE words of Fodens managing director, David Foden, "Fodens have been export minded for a long time". In traditional markets for heavyduty vehicles like Australia, South Africa and many parts of the Commonwealth, Fodens became well known as much for the large range of heavy duty axles as for the vehicles. In New Zealand, Fodens have a wholly owned subsidiary which controls the Far East operation in such countries as Hong Kong, Korea and Malaysia. Although the company has a small assembly area in New Zealand, the vehicles are sourced from the UK, controlled by the NZ administration.

Australia was a market where Fodens, like so many others, had a difficult time when the domestic regulations followed the American lead rather than the European one.

In the Middle East, Fodens found a "perfect niche" for their particular brand of vehicle, starting off with the help of a good distributor in Dubai and thus being well placed for the oil boom in the early '70s. Such booms are quite often followed by periods of relative depression and the Middle East has been no exception, with many oil rich countries overspending. Dubai and Saudi Arabia were exceptions but many of the smaller States overdid it.

This slowed things down in the Middle East about the same' time as the general world economic depression started, with the result that the export market has slowed up for Fodens during the last six months.

At the moment, 50 general inquiries could lead to firm orders for 250 to 300 vehicles, whereas not so long ago there would only be about 10 inquiries, but they often led to

total orders of around 500 vehicles.

From a technical viewpoint, the Foden export side produces rigid tippers with a gross weight of up to 38 tonnes, whereas the tractive units can go up to 65 or even 100 tonnes gcw, depending on the options. The range has a lot of common parts to minimise the spares stocking problem.

Cummins engines are offered exclusively in the export models — they had been standard in the dump truck for some time — but for the rest of the specification Foden parts are used, including the long-serving worm drive axles.

As David Foden said, -the worm drive is expensive and heavy but we have yet to come across anything better. Our axles have a capacity for overloading which is unchallenged

In Fodens' opinion, the axle specification has reached a• zenith as their engineers do not see anyone wanting more than a 32-ton bogie capability or a 10ton front axle.

The Foden range has always been expensive and the company is proud that this cost is justified by their vehicles' ability to stand up to abuse.

Looking to the future, Fodens are now looking at additional markets behind the Iron Curtain — Czechoslovakia, Russia and Romania — for the supply of large machinery transporters in the 100-ton gross category.

Fodens are present in some capacity or other in most markets of the world with one very important exception — the Americas. The company started

3n operation in Canada which las not been particularly suc3essful in gaining more than a :oe-hold in the market.

The South American market is a tricky one to get involved in, as there are a number of large companies with manufacturing facilities there, for example Scania in Brazil. So for the time being at least, Fodens are "'just looking".

Europe has been "impossible for us so far,to quote David Foden. The company has not been selling within the EEC but has been doing quite well in fringe territories like Turkey.

To get into Europe, Fodens will be concentrating on the on/off-road tipper category and will not be trying to get into line haulage at the moment although, in spite of this, they have had a lot of inquiries for the Haulmaster tractive unit. Fodens' current export figures account for around 30 per cent of the Sandbach company's total production. At the end of the financial year 1977/78 the value of these export sales had increased tenfold over the last six years.

Another side to Fodens' activities is the construction of Military and special purpose vehicles. The latter include the real oddball variety such as long wheelbase chinese sixes for airport refuelling and specially protected machines for transporting nuclear waste. For such equipment, the basic military specification has proved the ideal base.

COMMENTING on the past export performance of Seddon and Atkinson is straightforward but trying to draw any conclusions on its future intentions is rather more complicated because of their International Harvester involvement. Seddon Atkinson exports to a rather odd selection of countries. For example, buses are sent to Greece, Bermuda, Fiji and Mauritius. Greece also takes some 400-Series, but the bulk of the exports are Pennine Fours with Perkins V8 engines and Gardener-powered Pennine Sevens.

. New Zealand has been a good market for a long time and this is continuing with the current range of vehicles. So far in 1978, over 50,400 series chassis have been delivered — all with Cummins engines.

The 200-Series 16-tonner is fitted with Perkins power for the export market, whereas the UK version uses the German-built International D-358 engine. Included in the 200 export markets are Sudan, Ghana and St Lucia.

Seddon Atkinson now claims to have overcome the production constraints of the past couple of years with the result that the company can cope with the home market and, at the same time, increase the sales overseas.

As far as the future is concerned, Seddon Atkinson is tied up with I H and -specific export products are being developed". RATHER surprisingly perhaps, Italy is Bedford's top export market with 8,400 units in 1977. Surprising because Italy is usually very much a restricted market to non-Italian manufacturers.

The vast majority of Bedforts sold in Italy are CFs in both integral van and chassis cab form. Due to favourable taxation on fuel, they are all dieselpowered. In the heavier weight categories, Bedford has only just started to sell the TK and TM models in Italy.

The normal control TJ model accounts for the majority of Bedford sales in the company's second largest export market — Nigeria. Last year 6,900 units were sold and this year orders worth £34 million have been received.

Germany is another market where Bedford sales figures rely heavily on the CF — or rather the "Blitz" as it is designated for that particular market. In total 3,900 Bedford vehicles were sold in Germany last year.

One notable omission from

the Bedford -Top Sevenis Pakistan, which was once a major export territory but, due to credit problems, had recently dropped out of the picture. Bedford predicts that this is a market which will be back in force this year (for the first quarter of 1978 over 800 vehicles were registered) .

As far as the future is con

cerned, Bedford was rather more forthcoming than most in putting some numbers to the continued overleaf

market growth predictions.

The Third World presents the greatest market potential but, in many cases, the political situation tends to make the market a rather volatile one.

The growth in Europe is expected to be steady but unspectacular. Over the next four to five years, the anticipated growth rate is 20 per cent. This is for the whole globe with the exception of the United States and Canada, which is sourced from the former.

Over 31/2 tons, the Bedford comment on other manufacturers' predictions of one to two per cent growth is that "this is lower than we predict". Up to the 31/2 ton mark, Bedford is more in agreement with the general forecast of a buoyant market world wide.

Although the potential for export sales to Middle Eastern countries is still high, the OPEC revenues which grew enormously in '74/75 are not expected to continue at that rate_ Bedford sales in these areas are mainly of the 4x4 type of vehicle, for use both by the military and the oil companies.

Of the 1977 total of 90,460 units produced, Bedford exported 48,764 of them — an impressive 53.9 per cent.

THE MIDDLE East features highly on the export list by another UK manufacturer, namely ERF . The B-series is currently marketed in Europe, in France, Belgium, Holland and Switzerland and, outside Europe, in the Gulf States, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, South Africa and Ghana and Sierra Leone in West Africa.

South Africa takes righthand-drive versions ranging from the three-axle rigid plated for 26 tonnes gvw up to the 57 tonnes gcw of the 6x4 tractive unit. All the other ERF export markets take left-hand-drive versions. An interesting point is that Europe, the Middle East and West Africa all take a mixture of standard and sleeper cabs, whereas the rhd South African models are all standard cab versions_ FORD of Great Britain exports to well over 100 countries. As well as the obvious ones in Europe, Ford includes Turkey and Greece. Further afield the market includes India, Australia, New Zealand and several South American countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The only obvious omission is North America which is supplied by Ford UK in a similar way to the Bedford/ GM set-up.

Ford has a massive involvement in ckd export with 41,476 vehicles out of an export total of 73,493 being dispatched in crates during 1977. Not surprisingly, the Transit was the biggest export seller.

THE LIST of countries on the Chrysler export list reads like the index of a world atlas — Afghanistan, Antigua, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Canary Isles, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Formosa, France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras Rep, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Irish Republic, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan,.

Kuwait, Liberia, Libya: Malaysia, Mauritius, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigerian Federation, Norway, Oman, Panama, Portugal, Qatar, Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, St Kitts, St. Vincent, Sudan, Surinam, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay Yemen Arab Rep.

Chrysler's future in the ex port market is now linked witt the brand name of Dodge an( the aim of the company is tc cover the weight range from 3.E to around 38 tonnes plus, cer tainly as far as Europe is con cerned.

When I talked to Chrysler': marketing director, Pat Man nion, he described thc Dunstable-built 100-Series (Commando) as "the corner stone of the range for Europe.'

Chrysler's definition o' "Europe" in this context needs some explaining. It extends from Spain and Portugal in the west to Pakistan in the East one from Norway in the north tc Mozambique in the south!

One interesting omissior from the various markets of al the UK manufacturers is China. I wonder if this situation mighi change during the export yew ahead?