Commercial transport, fleet operations and industrial mobility across Africa.
DRC
Investment and fleet direction
The Copperbelt is generating new asset-heavy carriers. Kifaru expanded from 20 trucks in 2022 to 80 vehicles, while Cargotrans operates more than 80 trucks, including 6×4, 6×6 and 8×8 configurations built for difficult terrain and mining project work.
OEM brands competing for fleet orders
Truck procurement is unusually application-specific. High-clearance, all-wheel-drive and heavy-duty Chinese and European chassis compete alongside conventional highway tractors because mine access roads can be more demanding than the international corridor itself.
Dealers, workshops and aftersales
Lubumbashi and Kolwezi are the critical service centres in the south; eastern operators depend heavily on cross-border support through Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya.
Taxation and import treatment
Mining codes, project agreements and customs classification can materially alter equipment taxation. Off-highway machinery, road tractors and goods vehicles should be analysed separately rather than grouped under a single mining-equipment assumption.
New versus used equipment
Second-hand equipment remains common, but mining contractors working under uptime-based contracts increasingly invest in younger fleets and on-site maintenance capacity.