UD Trucks Corp. revealed its new line of Kuzer light-duty trucks on Oct. 10 at the opening day of the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS). The Kuzer is slated to be launched in the Indonesian market, where only UD Trucks’ Quester line of heavy-duty trucks is available at present. Deciding it necessary to expand...
Trucks
Mitsubishi Fuso Begins Production of Electric Truck in Portugal
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. began production of its electric-powered light truck, the eCanter, on Aug. 1 at Mitsubishi Fuso Truck Europe SA’s plant in Tramagal, Portugal. The small electric truck will be exported to North America and Europe. For Japan, production began in July at Mitsubishi Fuso’s Kawasaki factory. Twenty-five vehicles are scheduled...
Hino to Offer Chinese Market New Trucks at 10% Cheaper Cost
Hino Motors Ltd. (TYO:7205) has announced that it will release new trucks for the Chinese market in 2018–2019, developed with a focus on reducing costs. The company hopes that increased local procurement and other such measures will allow it to cut the prices of its trucks by approximately 10 percent. Hino began manufacturing heavy-duty trucks...
NSK Targets International Market With New Automotive Load Sensor
NSK Ltd. (TYO:6471) has developed an automotive load sensor. Able to measure the load on automobile tires, the new sensor will be marketed by NSK to vehicle manufacturers as a tool for preventing the overloading of compact commercial vehicles. The company will be primarily targeting markets outside of Japan. In addition to preventing overloading in...
Hino Motors Goes on the Offensive in US Truck Market
Hino Motors Ltd. (TYO:7205) plans to double its annual truck sales in the U.S. to over 20,000 units within the next five years. In addition to increasing its number of medium-duty truck models, the company aims to stabilize revenue by switching over to local procurement of environmentally friendly parts. In its bid to expand overseas...
Mitsubishi Fuso to Launch EV in Each Truck Class by 2020
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. aims to introduce an electric-powered truck in all of the company’s truck classes by 2020. The components to make these electric trucks are being developed primarily by Mitsubishi Fuso, and the company will offer the trucks globally through parent company Daimler AG. Domestic production began in July for Mitsubishi...
Hino Motors to Launch Large-Sized Touring Coach Compliant With Emissions Regulations
Hino Motors Ltd. (TYO:7205) announced on June 6 that it will launch its revamped large-sized touring coach, S’elega, on July 3. In addition to complying with 2016 emissions regulations, the revamped S’elega boasts improved performance of its pre-collision system (PCS). The short-body coach is designed to reduce the amount of emissions and comes standard with...
Mitsubishi Fuso Launches Fully Revamped Super Great Truck, Aero Buses
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. released a new iteration of its Super Great heavy-duty truck on May 15. The redesign marks the first complete overhaul for the Super Great in 21 years. All versions of the latest Super Great are outfitted with a new, more compact engine and automated mechanical transmission (AMT) that improve...
Mitsubishi Fuso Gets Ball Rolling on EV Trucking Infrastructure
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. held an opening ceremony on May 10 at its Kawasaki plant for the installation of power charging stations for electric trucks. Mitsubishi Fuso plans to launch its eCanter light-duty electric truck in Japan in the second half of this year. Due to a domestic lack of charging stations large...
Isuzu and Apple International Join Forces to Expand Used Car Business
Isuzu Motors Ltd. (TYO:7202) recently announced that it has agreed to form a capital alliance with Apple International Co. Ltd. Isuzu will invest approximately 4 billion yen ($35.74 million) to acquire a 9.9-percent stake in the company, which purchases, sells and exports used cars. The deal is slated to be finalized on May 31. Utilizing...
Toyota Supersizes Mirai Fuel Cell Technology for Tests in Heavy-Duty Truck
Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:7203) has announced that Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc. (TEMA) will begin demonstration tests this summer of a heavy-duty truck equipped with fuel cell system at the Port of Los Angeles, California. The tests aim to determine the system’s level of durability, traveling performance and environmental performance for applications...
UD Trucks Announces New Quon Heavy-Duty Truck
UD Trucks Corp. announced on April 11 its plans to launch a new version of the company’s Quon heavy-duty truck. This will be the line’s first full-model revamp in 13 years. The Ageo, Saitama-based company has upgraded the Escot, a proprietary electronically controlled automated manual transmission (AMT) used in the Quon. The new truck is...
Mitsubishi Fuso Consolidates Operations in Taiwan
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. has started consolidating its operations in Taiwan, where the company’s unit sales are trailing only those of Japan and Indonesia. The new framework covers imports and assembly through to sales operations – functions which until now have been divided across a number of companies. By forming a new company...
Hino Improves Truck Comfort, Operability With Full Upgrades to Profia and Ranger Models
Hino Motors Ltd. (TYO:7205) on April 5 simultaneously released fully upgraded new models of the company’s Profia heavy-duty truck and its Ranger medium-duty truck. The safety performance of the new models has been significantly bolstered, and the trucks are equipped with an information communication technology (ICT) service feature. By realizing operability and comfort in driving...
For First Time in 10 Years, Japan Sees More Than 90,000 Medium and Heavy-Duty Truck Sales
Japan’s sales of medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks grew 11.2 percent year-on-year for fiscal 2016 to reach 98,106 units, according to industry sources. It is the first time in 10 years that sales figures have topped the 90,000-unit mark. An industry member attributed this increase to strong sales of large cargo trucks throughout the year, as...
Mitsubishi Fuso to Offer Special New Road Service for Next Heavy-Duty Truck
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. will offer a new tire maintenance service for the Super Great heavy-duty truck slated for launch in May. In a partnership with Nihon Michelin Tire Co. Ltd., the Japanese company will roll out a special road service to reach vehicles with single-tire configurations within two hours. The Super Great’s...
Toyota Industries to Acquire Vanderlande, Expand Logistics Business
Toyota Industries Corp. (TYO:6201) announced on March 23 that it will acquire Netherlands logistics solutions company Vanderlande Industries Holding BV for 140 billion yen ($1.26 billion). Excelling in baggage processing systems for airports, as well as in logistics systems for the retail and parcel handling industries, Vanderlande has 50 bases of operations across the globe....
Hino Incorporates Modular Principles Into Truck Designs
Hino Motors Ltd. (TYO:7205) will make full-scale improvements to its medium-and heavy-duty trucks this spring, incorporating a new design that will allow the company to roll out product variations in short periods of time. The new design adopts modular principles that will enable Hino to respond quickly to ever-expanding customer needs. Japanese heavy-duty truck manufacturers...
Hino on Track to Launch New Telematics Service This Autumn
Hino Motors Ltd. (TYO:7205) will offer a new telematics service with new models slated to be launched this year. They will be equipped with a communication device that will check driving operation and vehicle conditions in real time. Collected data will be utilized for operation management, including that for fuel-efficient driving and vehicle maintenance. The...
NTT Docomo Eyes Using AI to Make Bus Routes Flexible
NTT Docomo Inc. (TYO:9437) and Hokkaido-based Mirai Share Co. Ltd. announced on March 9 that they have teamed up to bring about an AI smartphone system to support bus operations, providing efficient running of shared services in response to demand. The system will enable the allocation of shared vehicles to be dispatched according to user...
UD Trucks Launches Croner Medium-Duty Truck in Bangkok
UD Trucks Corp. on March 1 launched the company’s new medium-duty truck, the Croner, in Bangkok, Thailand. It was jointly developed with the Volvo Group as a strategic model for emerging markets and can be widely customized to meet the various business needs in the medium-duty segment. After commencing sales in Thailand from March, the trucks will be...
Isuzu to Acquire Kenyan GM Subsidiary, Expand African Market Reach
Isuzu Motors Ltd. (TYO:7202) announced on Feb. 28 that the company will acquire General Motors East Africa Ltd. (GMEA), a subsidiary of General Motors Co. (GM) that deals in the production and import and sales of commercial vehicles in Kenya. Isuzu will purchase a 57.7-percent share in the company from GM for an undisclosed amount,...
Japan Aims to Get Driver-less Trucks on the Road by 2020: Government
The Japanese government has put together a partial action plan for self-driving technology and looks to create a broad outline for overhauling the systems involved sometime during fiscal 2018. Clearly positioning this as a national project, the government is scrambling to bring into practical use convoys and mobility services for regional areas. At the same...
Japanese Truck Companies to Improve Vehicles Ahead of New Emission Regulations
Truck manufacturer UD Trucks Corp. will fully upgrade the Quon, one of the company’s large trucks, in April of this year. The Ageo, Saitama-based company intends to make broad enhancements to the Quon’s product appeal by improving things such as vehicle safety and payload. The upgrade comes as a move to satisfy new gas emission regulations that...
Mitsubishi Fuso to Begin Truck Production in India, Targets Middle East Market
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. will begin Indian production of its light-duty truck, the Canter. The new production line will target markets in the Middle East, which until now have been supplied via export from Japan. While the truck is already produced in other countries outside Japan, production of the vehicle in India is...
Isuzu Localizes Giga for Entry Into China’s Heavy Duty Truck Market
Isuzu Motors Ltd. (TYO:7202) will make a full-scale entry into China’s heavy-duty truck market. The automaker has developed a local model based on its Giga series to suit the needs of the Chinese market. The company will start knock-down (KD) production in China and begin selling the vehicles by year’s end. Isuzu has gained a...
UD Trucks Develops New Medium-Duty Truck for Emerging Markets
UD Trucks Corp. announced on Jan. 24 the development of the Croner, a medium-duty truck for emerging markets. Further details will be formally released in Thailand on March 1, with subsequent rollout in regions such as Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America. The Croner will be the company’s second model released for emerging...
Kyushu University to Begin Holding Demonstration Tests of Autonomous Bus Technology
The Smart Mobility Promotion Consortium announced on Dec. 13 that it will commence demonstration tests of autonomous bus technology at Kyushu University’s Ito Campus in Nishi Ward, Fukuoka, in January 2017. The consortium is comprised of Kyushu University, NTT Docomo Inc. (TYO:9437), DeNA Co. Ltd. (TYO:2432) and the city of Fukuoka. During the project, an...
