SMT CEO Mr. Jérôme BARIOZ: Service is the foundation of successful cooperation

During the Belt and Road & With You news conference held by Dongfeng Motor Corporation in Alicante, Spain, SMT CEO Mr. Jérôme BARIOZ and Dongfeng Trucks SVP of Global Brand & Commercial Mr. Stuart, on behalf of their respective companies, signed a strategic cooperation agreement, making SMT the distributor of Dongfeng Trucks in West Africa, which is of great strategic significance.

 SMT CEO Mr. Jérôme BARIOZ

SMT focuses on heavy-duty trucks in West Africa

Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, Services Machinery Trucks (SMT), a business specializing in sales and after sales services in transportation equipment and engineering equipment, operates in 23 countries in Europe, West and North Africa, and the Middle East.

In 2017, SMT achieved a sales revenue of 760 million euros and employs 1,400 people, of whom 700 are located in Africa. SMT will first help bring the brand of Dongfeng to West African countries, including Senegal, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. SMT has operated the Volvo brand in West Africa for years and has established good reputation, complete sales networks, and customer satisfaction capabilities.

Making Dongfeng the No. 1 truck brand in West Africa

According to Mr. Jérôme BARIOZ, the major truck brands in West Africa are Mercedes-Benz, CNHTC, and Beiben Trucks, of which CNHTC is the bigger seller. SMT and Dongfeng work to make Dongfeng the largest Chinese brand in the market.

 SMT CEO Mr. Jérôme BARIOZ and

Dongfeng Trucks SVP of Global Brand & Commercial Mr. Stuart,

on behalf of their respective companies,

signed a strategic cooperation agreement

First, SMT and Dongfeng share the common ideals. Mr. Jérôme BARIOZ said that cooperation between SMT and Dongfeng is unique in that, Dongfeng focuses more on how great its services are, instead of just the number of trucks sold. Dongfeng then has chosen to work with a local distributor to provide sales and after sales services to their common customers.

This is a business model Mr. Jérôme BARIOZ identifies with, saying that the letter S in his company’s name SMT is “services” and that in his company service comes first and in every detail of their work.

Second, rights, and obligation are well defined in the strategic alliance agreement. When asked when SMT will start selling Dongfeng’s trucks, Mr. Jérôme BARIOZ replied, “Today.” He said that the philosophy of the Dongfeng brand in West Africa is to care for everyone and every truck.

Third, SMT has successful experience in distributing Chinese brand equipment. SMT, also a dist r ibutor of Shandong Lingong, a Chinese brand of construction machinery, has the largest sales volumes in areas where SMT is authorized. This provides SMT with experience and confidence about how it can successfully operate the Chinese truck brand of Dongfeng.

Fourth, Dongfeng provides timely and effective technical support. In the next three months, Dongfeng Trucks will send a technical support team to West Africa to ensure high-quality Dongfeng trucks are delivered to customers and to train SMT staff for maintenance and repairs so that customer needs in the Western African countries are met when Dongfeng trucks are rolled out on a full scale. Parts and components will also be in storage in West Africa to ensure the delivery.

The macro-economic environment is good for Dongfeng to enter West Africa.

Lower oil prices resul ted in sever eeconomic depression in Western Africa. Its market for trucks shrunk and made business for truck manufacturers very difficult. However, fueled by higher oil prices, the West Africa’s economy has begun to improve and the transportation market starts to recover, particularly container transportation for oil and grain. Demand for construction vehicles also increases. As infrastructure projects are implemented along the Belt and Road, China and West Africa start to work on more projects, which provide opportunities for companies operating in West Africa.

Dongfeng has enough manufacturing capacity and offers upgradable products that meet emission requirements. Related to emission standard, new vehicles from Europe and the United States cannot enter the West Africa market and only second-hand ones are available. Chinese trucks are well positioned to occupy differentiated emission requirements.

A promising future lies ahead for Dongfeng and SMT, which will hopefully grasp market opportunities to realize their ambitious plans.

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