DAF has announced that it has officially begun truck production at a site in Brazil. The company said in a statement that its trucks will be assembled at a 300,000-square foot site in Ponta Grossa, Parana state, which has seen an investment of USD320 million. It added that the first vehicles that will be built at the site will be the XF105, designed for long-haul applications. However, this will eventually be followed by the CF for uses from regional transportation to heavy construction and the LF designed for distribution and urban delivery.
Significance: DAF is making an entry into the Brazilian market with this site and is hoping to take advantage of the demand for medium- and heavy-commercial vehicles (MHCV). The company has already set up 20 dealers through which to sell the brand in the country, but is intending to increase this to 40 during 2014. IHS Automotive is expecting the brand to sell just less than 1,000 units in its first full year in 2014, before reaching almost 3,000 units during 2017, in a market that is anticipated to grow from 161,434 units in 2012 to 212,000 units, although this should flatten significantly towards the end of this period. The chairman and chief executive officer of parent company PACCAR, Mark Pigott, has suggested that the brand's products could also be shipped to other countries in South America.
