RIGHT-HAND DRIVE OR LEFT-HAND DRIVE? WHAT AFRICAN BUYERS MUST CONFIRM BEFORE ORDERING

Getting the drive side wrong is the single most expensive mistake in a truck order. Here is how to confirm which side your market actually needs — including the grey-fleet exception nobody warns you about.

Why Drive Side Is The First Question, Not The Last

Drive side decides how the cab is built: dashboard, steering column, pedal box, wiper sweep, headlight beam pattern and even the exhaust routing. It is not a bolt-on change you can make after the truck lands.

A unit built for the wrong side cannot be registered in most markets, and converting one properly costs more than ordering correctly in the first place. That is why we ask for it before we quote, not after.

African Markets That Drive On The Left (Order Right-Hand Drive)

These countries run left-hand traffic, so the driver sits on the right:

South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique

Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda

Eswatini, Lesotho, Mauritius, Seychelles

African Markets That Drive On The Right (Order Left-Hand Drive)

These countries run right-hand traffic, so the driver sits on the left:

West Africa: Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin, Togo, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gambia

Central Africa: Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, DR Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Angola

North & East: Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi

The Grey-Fleet Exception You Should Know About

In several Central African markets — notably DR Congo, Congo-Brazzaville and Angola — large numbers of right-hand-drive used trucks imported from Japan and Dubai are already on the road, even though traffic there runs on the right. Because the fleet exists, buyers sometimes assume they can register a new RHD unit too.

That assumption is risky. Some authorities tolerate vehicles already in the fleet but refuse new RHD registrations; others change the rule with little notice. Confirm in writing with your local registration office or clearing agent before you order — not with a fellow driver at the port.

Four Checks Before You Pay A Deposit

Confirm the rule with the registering authority in the country of use, not the country of payment.

If you are buying for resale, check what your buyers can register — resale value follows the legal side, not the cheap side.

Ask whether RHD changes the lead time. Right-hand-drive cabs are built to order and can add days to the schedule.

State the drive side on the proforma invoice and the contract. If it is not written down, it is not agreed.

How We Handle It

Every unit we supply is built to order, left-hand or right-hand drive, with air conditioning fitted or omitted to suit your market. Tell us the country of registration when you enquire and we will quote the correct configuration the first time.