How has LiuGong performed in Africa since last year?

It has been a strong year for LiuGong in the mining space in Africa, and we are continuing to push forward. In Southern Africa, for example, in Mozambique, we delivered a fleet of large excavators. In South Africa, where the market is declining, we managed to maintain our market share. In West Africa, we introduced our electric wheel loaders and electric trucks for mining – one delivery is scheduled next week for testing with a major client. We also delivered our biggest dozer, the LD60D, to a key gold mining company, which marks the first delivery of this model anywhere in Africa. More orders are already pending.

Do you see heightened interest in LiuGong’s electric range?

Yes, many boards and HQs are asking for decarbonization, and while people often say “that doesn’t work in Africa,” today we can prove that it does. I’d say 60% of my meetings at Mining Indaba were about decarbonization, and we’ve seen real interest since. 

We’ve demonstrated that electric products deliver a better total cost of ownership (TCO), which tends to be the main concern voiced by our customers. Mining is intrinsically expensive, going deeper underground is expensive, and commodity prices have dropped in some cases, so people are looking for ways to improve TCO. Electric equipment supports that. On average, our customers save 30–40% in costs, and on some projects, we’ve reached savings of up to 60% by using our equipment. 

Could you comment on the creation of a dedicated mining division at LiuGong Africa and your expansion plans in East Africa?

LiuGong decided to separate mining and construction, and now we have a dedicated division that covers equipment, after-sales, and financing for mining. Since May this year, I’ve been appointed Director of the Mining Division for Africa. I’m currently building a team to support Southern Africa, East Africa, and West Africa. The main markets remain Southern and West Africa, but we’re seeing new developments in East Africa, especially in Ethiopia and Tanzania, for example, where big mines are currently opening. The projects differ: in Southern Africa, its mostly coal, manganese, and chrome, whereas in East Africa, especially Tanzania, it’s mainly gold and rare earths; in West Africa, iron ore and gold stand out. 

Our mining division exists to hear the “voice of the customer” and be more agile than competitors. My target is to partner with African subcontractors – ten years ago, the mines managed equipment in-house, but today they rely much more on local subcontractors, and those people need tailored support. To drive our expansion, we work through a dealership model. As the OEM, we handle R&D and manufacturing but leave the dealers on the ground to tailor their approach for each territory. The team has done a great job over the past four years in building dealer relationships, but in some grey markets, we are still looking for partners.

LiuGong is introducing new products like the Articulated Dump Truck (ADT). How is your portfolio expanding?
We are particularly excited about the ADT, coming up in 2026, currently under testing with some key accounts. Another novelty is the 100-ton RDT rigid mining truck, which will soon make its market debut. With the ADTs, RDTs, and wide-body trucks, we’ll cover the full haulage range. On the loading side, we’re adding a 135-ton excavator and a 25-ton loader by the end of this year. Together with LiuGong's new hauling equipment, this expands our offer to match bigger operations.

To what extent is local financing important for your growth?

To grow our mining division, LiuGong is especially looking for financial partners. The key to success in Africa will be local financing: while we do have plenty of customer inquiries, it is very difficult to close deals without financing. We currently rely heavily on ECAs (export credit agencies), but we need more local financing partners who understand African markets and can support our dealers and customers. 

How do you think buyers’ confidence in Chinese-made mining equipment has shifted in recent years?

All our competitors manufacture in China today, so they cannot claim Chinese-made means low quality – their manufacturing plates say the same. R&D in China has advanced massively; most new developments now come from China, not Western markets, and China is the de facto leader when it comes to electric batteries and electrification. 

Over the years, Chinese manufacturers of heavy machinery and mining equipment have upgraded the quality of their products, so Western brands have had to adjust strategy: To remain competitive in price-sensitive markets like Africa, they have sometimes withdrawn their top-tier (prime) products from those markets. 

Instead of selling their best machines at high prices, which could make them uncompetitive against cheaper Chinese machines, Western companies offer lower-spec or older-model equipment in Africa to be able to match the price point of Chinese competitors, but this means the African buyers may not get the top-level quality that Western brands offer elsewhere. So while Chinese brands improve on quality, competitor brands are lowering the quality of their products for Africa.

LiuGong is a proudly Chinese OEM. 95% of our products are made in China, but we have strong global partners like Cummins and ZF. This unique dual partnership provides us with a distinct strategic advantage, which sets us apart.