Bahrain Commercial Services Company, which operates under the Jawad Group and which relaunched China’s JAC Motors trucks last year in Bahrain after acquiring the commercial vehicles dealership in 2014, expects sales to pick up sharply within the next two years in the kingdom.

The company sells or leases JAC trucks of 3.5 tonnes and 4.2 tonnes, with the latter proving to be more popular. The company, which is also a dealer for JAC cars, received its first consignment of seven trucks by the end of December 2014 and another consignment of six this year. Five of the trucks it imported were sold outright with the remainder leased. The vehicles are available in a range of models and can run with freezer or chiller units.

The trucks, equipped with Cummins engines and ZF transmission, have a warranty of three years and 100,000 km and can safely and conveniently carry a range of industrial and other cargo including oil drums, food and pharmaceutical products and construction material.  Some of the trucks are in service with the Ministry of Health, and the company is in discussions with construction firms to have them acquire JAC trucks for transportation of building materials.

JAC customises the cargo box if specified. However, the dealer has a workshop in Bahrain to do the same if customers so desire and all cargo boxes installed by its customers have been fabricated at its facility.

FEEDBACK AND PROSPECTS

“We’ve had excellent user feedback, which has given us complete confidence in JAC trucks’ greater sales viability,” said Gowtham G, general manager of Bahrain Commercial Services Company.

“Compared to Japanese or Korean vehicles they are approximately up to 20 per cent cheaper and users get value for money with similar quality.

“They have aesthetic appeal and convenience value and are attractive for the deployment of Cummins engines and the ZF transmission, devised to be the world’s best transmission system. Basically only the body is made in China and the assembling is done there.”

The company imports JAC trucks directly from the auto maker’s plant in Hefei in northern China.

“We’re expecting to deliver 50 units in another two years through intensive marketing,” said Gowtham.

“As long as there is commercial activity there will be a need for these types of vehicles. We’re instilling confidence. The mindset about Chinese vehicles is changing and there is now greater appreciation. JAC Motors has done well in other GCC states, and in Saudi Arabia some 800 of their trucks are delivered annually, which speaks volumes of their market acceptability.”

JAC has a showroom at Segaya Plaza in the Zinj area of Bahrain.