Parts come from several Chinese original equipment manufacturers: Baotou Bei Ben Heavy-Duty Truck Co in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, and Weichai Group, which makes the engines. The plant in Pietermaritzburg is capable of building 800 to 1,000 trucks a year.

The target markets for Powerstar vehicles are industries such as construction, mining, agriculture and waste management. The vehicles fill a demand for an on/off-road truck that is robust, economical, simple to maintain and easy to drive, Parry said.

African success revs for auto firm

Truck makers pin hopes on urbanization amid slump

"Local construction and mining businesses are the major customers, and those businesses will keep expanding," he said. "We have listened to what the market wants. Meeting the demands of our customers is how we have become successful."

Apart from selling trucks in South Africa, Ever Star also boasts sales in other African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

As more African countries attract Chinese investment to build roads, bridges, dams and other infrastructure, the demand for trucks continues to rise.

"The supply chain is one of the most important foundations," Genis said. "If you don't control the supply chain well, the cost of the trucks will be very high. In the past, we bought everything from Bei Ben. But we then got some parts, such as the engine, directly from the manufacturer and saved more than 25 percent on costs."

Ever Star maintained a stable management team after the reorganization in 2010, and that has played a key role in the company's success.

"Chinese companies give you broad guidelines and afford you your own individual space," said Genis, who worked for European and US companies, including Bosch, for more than 40 years. "By contrast, European companies are very formal and conservative, and American companies are very strict regarding procedures."