JOHANNESBURG – Africa’s biggest-ever comparative truck test is coming to South Africa, with Truck Test 2026 set to run from November 10 to 12.
The event will put 20 extra-heavy trucks from 13 manufacturers through the same demanding route.
The SA motoring sector is gearing up for a first. An undertaking of this scale has never been staged on the continent.
The event arrives as inland diesel prices reached record nominal levels in September, with Brent crude near $100 a barrel.
Wholesale diesel now costs about R29.11 a litre for 500ppm and R30.05 for 50ppm. That leaves 50ppm about R4.50 a litre above the July 2022 level, when the last Truck Test took place during that year’s fuel-price crisis.
Relief is not on the way. Motorists face a R3-a-litre increase in October, according to the latest Central Energy Fund (CEF) data.
Projections put 95 petrol on track for a R3.12-a-litre rise and 93 petrol for R2.93. Diesel is also expected to climb by around R3.
Follow our rolling fuel price updates for the latest.
Why Truck Test 2026 matters beyond trucking
The logistics and transport sector forms the critical backbone of South Africa’s supply chain, carrying more than 85% of the country’s total freight payload.
Food, medicine, clothing and building materials all spend part of their journey on a truck. When diesel prices climb, consumers eventually feel the impact.
“Truck operators cannot control the diesel price, but they can make informed decisions about the vehicles they put into their fleets,” says Charleen Clarke, editorial director of FOCUS on Transport & Logistics, which organises the event.
20 extra-heavy trucks, one demanding route
Daewoo, DAF, FAW, Foton, Hino, Iveco, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Powerstar, Scania, Shacman, Sinotruk and Volvo Trucks will field the vehicles.
They will run the Johannesburg–Durban–Johannesburg route on the N3, starting and finishing at Engen Blockhouse 1 Stop North.
Each 6×4 truck tractor will operate at a gross combination mass of about 55.5 to 56 tonnes.
All will pull identical Afrit tautliners, while Engen supplies the fuel and Bandag the tyres.
TruckScience and Ctrack will handle data analysis and telematics, allowing the test to compare the trucks under the same operating conditions.
The results will go beyond fuel consumption. A productivity index will weigh fuel burned against average speed, because a truck must save diesel while still moving freight efficiently.
Who should watch the truck test closely?
Fleet owners, logistics managers and procurement officers stand to gain the most, since a single extra-heavy truck represents a multimillion-rand investment.
Technical and maintenance teams will also be watching how drivetrains and components cope under sustained strain.
“The scale of the event makes it not only the biggest truck test ever staged in Africa, but one of the most significant comparative truck tests anywhere in the world,” says Florian Engel, chairperson of the International Truck of the Year Jury.
The Road Freight Association, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport South Africa and SAPICS are among the bodies backing the event.
Official results will be revealed at the Truck Test 2026 Results Breakfast at Bryanston Country Club on November 19, 2026.
The results will then appear in the December edition of FOCUS on Transport & Logistics.
